Aamir Khan demands swift conviction in rape cases

HYDERABAD, Dec 9:
Expressing anguish over the rape of a woman allegedly by a cab driver in Delhi, Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan today favoured “swift and certain” conviction as a deterrent towards reducing incidents of sexual assault on women.
“…What happened in Delhi, it’s extremely unfortunate. Each time I read about something like this, my heart bleeds. It’s really sad,” Aamir said at a press conference here in connection with his upcoming film ‘PK’.
He said that ensuring a high rate of conviction and a speedy conviction would help in reducing offences of rape.
“My take on this is that one of the most important things that we need, if we want the incidents of rape to come down, is a very high rate of conviction. Right now, the rate of conviction is so low. The process of justice is so long. And, the dice is loaded against the women,” Aamir said.
The actor, who had raised the issue in his TV show ‘Satyamev Jayate’, said there should be fast track courts where case of crime against women and children are handled on priority basis.
“When conviction is certain and swift… I know I cannot get away, it will not be after 20 years, it will be after two months. Then things will change… One of the big things we need to do is, conviction should be certain and swift. At the same time, we have to work on the mindset of the people,” he said.
‘PK’ actress Anushka Sharma, who was present on the
occasion, echoed the sentiments of Aamir Khan.
Asked about the row over ‘kiss of love’ events being held in different cities in the country, Khan said he found nothing wrong in public display of affection, though it is left to the individual choices.
“I have always been public in my affection, for example, with Kiran ji (Khan’s wife). Whenever I am with her, I am holding her hands. I can understand why some people are averse to it. I think we can voice our opinion,” he said.
“I don’t think we should take to violence. We must understand that we are in a democracy… To each individual his own. But we should not resort to violence,” he said. (PTI)