Medical students have demanded that the accused arrested in connection with Manipal gang-rape case be given exemplary punishment if charges against them were proved.
The students who spoke to The Hindu felt that the judiciary should set an example to the entire nation so that justice was delivered quickly and effectively.
Mario Bukelo, of Fr. Muller Medical College said when there are no strict laws to govern sexual assaults on women or speedy convictions for rapist, the courts here should set an example for the country by delivering justice. “Even, an inebriated man should not think of misbehaving with any woman.”
Priyanka Sathyanath, also from the same college, said the criminals should be punished in such a way that no man dared to approach a girl with bad intentions.
Many angry students even suggested some actions that legal experts might dismiss as statements uttered in emotion. For example, Nanditha Sorte, paramedical student of KMC said the choice on the quantum of punishment for culprits should be left to the victim.
“It was she (victim) who underwent the physical and mental trauma,” she observed.
While a few students suggested that the number of sexual assaults could be brought down with more convictions and severe punishments, Sanjay Goerge, president, Student’s Council, Father Muller Medical College felt that the mindset of the government towards the rapist should change. “The culprits should be given highest and rigorous punishment. And, these culprits should be socially boycotted.”
Though some students suggested death penalty, Megna Machado of Dubai, a student of KMC, Mangalore, disagreed. “Not death, but severe punishment should be given. Women should be treated with respect.”
Edmond Fernandes, a student at Father Muller Medical College, felt that there is a need to build a powerful citizenship by having respect for each other, and attending to SOS calls rather than watching thing unfold before us.
