More than half of respondents approve of death penalty for rapists, Indian survey reveals

Students make their opinions clear at a protest rally in Allahabad, India on Dec. 26, 2012, following the gang rape of a student in the Indian capital on Dec.16. Sanjay Kanojia/AFP/Getty Images

New Delhi, Jan 24 (IANS) An overwhelming majority of people surveyed in 28 Indian cities want death penalty for rapists.

This is the finding of an ABP News-Nielsen Survey made public Thursday.

Another 21 per cent favoured life imprisonment for rapists. Chemical castration got the nod by 17 per cent.

As many as 75 per cent of Delhites do not feel the city is safe for women, a statement said.

They felt that the absence of fear of law and poor policing were the two major reasons for the increase in crimes against women in the national capital.

A majority of the 8,842 people surveyed in 28 cities said they would report any form of molestation to police and help a victim of any untoward incident like A road accident or molestation.

“Similarly, (the) majority across the country feel poor implementation of law and poor rate of conviction leads to more crime against women.”

A total of 37 per cent said the law and order situation would improve in Delhi if Delhi Police reported to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Twenty-two per cent do not think it would make much of a difference.

A high of 57 per cent of respondents felt that leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh should have engaged with those who took to the streets after the Dec. 16 gang rape in Delhi.

Seventy-nine per cent OF respondents in Jamshedpur feel their city was safe, followed by Madurai where 68 per cent think alike.

In contrast, 79 per cent in Hyderabad feel their city is very unsafe for women followed by 75 per cent in Delhi and 72 percent in Kochi.