Women MLAs tie rakhis to AP CM YS Jagan for introducing Disha Act

Following the swift action taken by the Andhra Pradesh government to curb atrocities against women in the state, scores of women arrived the the Chief Minister’s office in Tadepalli to tie ‘rakhis’ to YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The Andhra Pradesh government passed the Disha Act that mandates every criminal who has assaulted women or children to be hanged within 21 days, if the case possesses conclusive evidence. Named ‘AP Disha Act’, the law focuses on Zero FIR, that allows for women to file a complaint in any jurisdiction. The law also seeks to set up special courts in all districts for trying the cases faster. Tollywood Megastar Chiranjeevi hailed the AP Government for passing the act.

The move to introduce the Disha Act came in shortly after the gruesome gang-rape and murder of 27-year-old veterinary doctor in Shadnagar, Hyderabad. The crime that took place in Telangana on November 28 ignited protests all over the country. Even as many cases against the perpetrators of such crimes have been long-pending, the news of all the four accused in the Hyderabad case being gunned down sent the nation into a celebratory mode. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy addressed the series of events and said people have been making heroes of the policemen who killed the accused only because the judicial system has been delaying justice to the perpetrators.

The judicial system has been receiving flak ever since the Hyderabad rape incident occurred. Many cases across India have been pending in courts for years. The 2012 Nirbhaya rape accused is still pending in the courts – seven years after the crime was committed against a student who was travelling in a private bus. She was gang-raped on the moving bus and thrown out in a nondescript location. The victim soon came to be known as ‘Nirbhaya’ and succumbed to death on December 29, 2012. The accused in Unnao rape case of 2018, who attacked the same victim again and set her ablaze, have been let out on bail, yet again. The victim passed away on December 6.