President Kovind nods a Telangana Bill
A bill which will help tackle sexual offenders, cybercriminals and traditional unlawful acts like bootlegging and dacoity in Telangana was assented by President Ram Nath Kovind, officials said on Sunday.
A 1986 Act, which had jurisdiction for the undivided Andhra Pradesh but could not punish offenders of present-day white-collar crimes or financial frauds will be replaced by the Telangana Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Dacoits, Drug-Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders and Land-Grabbers (Amendment) Bill.
The President has given assent to the Telangana Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Dacoits, Drug-Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders and Land-Grabbers (Amendment) Bill, 2017, a Home Ministry official said.
The legislation is one of the showpiece laws of the outgoing K Chandrashekar-led TRS government which faces Assembly elections soon.
According to the official, the amended Act has provisions to punish sexual offenders, explosive substances offenders, arms smugglers, cyber fraudsters and white-collar or financial offenders.
The Telangana government, through the amendment, has included provisions under which selling of spurious seeds, insecticides, fertilisers, adulteration of food, making of fake documents, unauthorised selling of forest products and gambling are punishable crimes.
Provisions against common and traditional crimes like dangerous activities, bootlegging, dacoity, drug trafficking, immoral trafficking and land-grabbing will continue to be part of the amended Act.
In the old legislation, there was no scope to keep a check on cyber frauds, sexual harassment, online gambling and fake certificates cases, which are common now-a-days, another official said.
The official further said the amendment has provisions to deal with all these crimes.
