CM Vijay Wants Quick Punishment for Sex Crimes

Chennai: Calling for expediting investigations into heinous crime cases against women and children and speedy punishment of the accused by filing charges without delay, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay emphasized the need to take precautionary measures and create awareness against such crimes.

Examining the crime situation in the state with the attorney general as well as officials from the police and social welfare departments at the Secretariat on Monday, Vijay demanded maximum punishment for the accused in such crimes.

He said that detailed and in-depth investigations into sex crimes and imposing heavy penalties on the accused should serve as a deterrent for those planning to commit such heinous crimes.

The Chief Minister welcomed the verdict of the POSCO court, which on Monday awarded double death penalty to accused M Dharma Munishwaran, in the rape and murder of a 12th standard girl child at Vilathikulam in Thoothukudi district.

Welcoming the decision to be delivered within three months, the official said justice was done speedily in the case and this should be welcomed as it complements the efforts of the State government to ensure the safety of children and women.

With 71 witnesses testifying in the hearing, which was completed in a short time, the court sentenced the double to death penalty for the rape and murder that took place on March 10. The body was found the next day and Munishwaran was arrested on 19 March.

When the girl stepped out of her house to attend nature’s call that evening, she was brutally attacked just 200 meters from her home in Vedanatham village.