Three Rapists Sentenced to Death Under New Indian Law

For the first time in India, a court has given a stringent punishment for repeat rapists.”

Three men convicted of two gang rapes in Mumbai were sentenced to death on Friday, the first under a new law that allows capital punishment for repeat offenders.

The Mumbai court had found Vijay Jadhav, Kasim Bengali and Salim Ansari guilty under section 376 E of the penal code, which was introduced after the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi in December 2012.

The three Mumbai men were all previously given life in prison for two separate gang rapes, of a photojournalist and a telephone operator, in a deserted mill in 2013.

“For the first time in India, a court has given a stringent punishment for repeat rapists. It announced that the three will hang till death,” Special Public Prosecutor, Ujjwal Nikam, told reporters outside court.

The lawyers for the defendants were likely to appeal, a source said.

The Mumbai attacks sparked renewed public anger over women’s safety in India, after the 2012 New Delhi attack led to weeks of protests.

The government promised swifter prosecutions after the New Delhi gang rape, and laws against sexual violence were made stricter.

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