A state in India is set to introduce tougher penalties for rape after a trainee doctor died in a horrific a sex attack.
Huge protests took over the streets of West Bengal after the medic was fatally injured in a seminar room at Kolkata hospital on August 9.
The the West Bengal Assembly has unanimously passed a bill ordering life imprisonment for convicted rapists and the death penalty for rape which results in the death or vegetative state of the victim.
A string of other measures are also included in the the Aparajita Woman and Child Bill.
These include a task force led by a female officer to speed up rape investigations and court cases.The bill will now be passed to the governor of West Bengal to be rubber stamped.
The murder sparked protests and rallies, drawing tens of thousands of people calling for justice. The suspect Sanjay Roy has said he is innocent.
Many in India see the bill as a step towards justice and assembly members from the opposition BJP party have lent their full support to its passage.
Sujata, a 55 year old protester who did not want to be identified by her last name, supported the bill told ABC: “You have to put some examples before the people so they will be aware of the punishment.”
However, those opposed to the death penalty bill claim police investigations can be flawed and mistakes made leading to miscarriages of justice.
Maitreyi Misra, the director of death penalty mitigation at the pro bono legal aid and research centre Project 39A, said that 95% of all Indian death row cases from 2000 to 2015 either ended in acquittals or commutations.
She told ABC: “Procedural safeguards are not being insured... What kind of justice are we aiming to have?”
