DCW chief Swati Maliwal, who is on hunger strike for the last 12 days, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and demanded immediate implementation of the new Disha Bill in the entire country. The bill mandates the disposal of cases of atrocities against women within 21 days and handing out the death penalty.
The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed the Disha Bill 2019 on Friday. It awards death sentence in offences of rape and gang rape and expediting verdict in trials of such cases within 21 days.
The proposed new law has been named the Andhra Pradesh Disha Act Criminal Law (AP Amendment) Act, 2019, as a tribute to a veterinarian who was raped and murdered in Hyderabad early this month.
Maliwal also expressed sadness over the "indifferent attitude" of the central government on the issue of women's safety despite her hunger strike.
This was her second letter to PM Modi after she sat on the hunger strike on December 3 demanding capital punishment for rapists within six months of their conviction.
Maliwal said she will not end her fast till the Disha Bill is implemented in the entire country.
In the evening, her condition deteriorated and doctors and police suggested that she be moved to hospital but she refused to budge.
According to a health bulletin, the uric acid in her blood had reached dangerous levels and could damage the kidneys.
The doctors advised that she be shifted to a hospital, following which police got an ambulance but she refused to go to the hospital.
(With inputs from PTI)
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