Dear Editor,
Apropos Salil Gewali’s letter, “Death knell for the rape culture” published on April 30. It needs to be reflected on; that if by giving the exact same punishment to a person who has raped a girl under 12 as the one who has not only raped but also murdered a girl under 12, are ween-suring death knell for the minor rape victims or not.
A killer-rapist needs to get more punishment than a rapist. A distinction as such is necessary to restrict a rapist from killing his victim to avoid being accused by her.
When rape has been culminated to a murder by a criminal, it is a common error to brand him as a rapist. As a matter of fact, he should be called a killer-rapist and must get more punishment for his capital offence.
Yours,
Sujit De,
Kolkata