Cabinet approves draft law with death sentence for rape

Law Minister Anisul Huq

The cabinet on Monday approved the draft of Women & Children Repression Prevention Act keeping the provision of death penalty, law minister Anisul Huq said.

With the approval of the president, an ordinance will be promulgated tomorrow, Tuesday as the parliament is not holding sessions currently.

The ordinance would be effective from Tuesday. Before that, it will be vetted by the law ministry.

The law minister said the maximum punishment for rape in the existing law is lifetime imprisonment, which has been upgraded to death penalty.

The decision came following the ongoing outrage emerged due to frequent incidents of rape all over the country.