India to soon bring bill proposing death penalty for mob-beating

The Indian government will soon bring a parliamentary bill proposing death penalty for the crime of mob beating federal Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said in the backdrop of a series of mob lynching incidents that left 32 people dead across eleven states in one year.

The proposed Bill will be on the lines of a legislation seeking capital punishment to those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years, he told the media in Yavatmal in western Indian state of Maharashtra, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

"Lynching is a barbaric crime and no civilised society can accept it. The Union government will soon bring a Bill proposing death penalty for lynching. The proposed bill will be on the lines of a legislation seeking death penalty to those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years," the minister told a delegation of the Nathjogi nomadic community who called on him on Monday, according to our New Delhi correspondent.

The minister's remarks came against the backdrop of a spate of incidents of mob violence over suspicion of cow smuggling and child lifting in various parts of the country.

Five members of Nathjogi community were beaten by a mob in Dhule district of Maharashtra on suspicion of being "child traffickers" earlier this month.

The Indian Supreme Court also recently voiced serious concern over incidents of mob beating and asked the government to enact a new law to effectively deal with the menace.