Shinde promises fast-track court

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday assured Parliament of expeditious action against five perpetrators of the Mumbai gang-rape, amid demand of death for the culprits.

“The Maharashtra government will do its utmost to complete investigation into the crime and prosecute the accused expeditiously,” Shinde told Lok Sabha members.

He also promised to set up a fast-track court to hear the matter.

Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj demanded death sentence for rapists as a deterrent. “If we use the medium of fast-track courts to take quick decisions in such cases, if you hang one or two, then I think such incidents will stop,” said Swaraj, who found support in MPs cutting across the political spectrum.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal of the Akali Dal demanded death penalty for all such culprits. While Janata Dal-United chief Sharad Yadav condemned the incident, CPI veteran Gurudas Dasgupta said many such incidents were reported from various places, including Jharkhand, where a woman constable was raped recently.

Swaraj pointed out that judgment on the December 16 Delhi gang-rape case was yet to be delivered.