Legal Awareness: Crime victims' family in dark about legal rights
Victims of rape and the families of the murdered are paid money to compensate them for being at the receiving end of the crime.
Hyderabad: Rape victims and families of those who are murdered are unaware of their right to compensation. Under a central government scheme, rape victims and families of the murdered are entitled to compensation from the government. Generally the amount of the compensation is fixed by the court. However, the major problem is lack of awareness.
In Telangana, 9 rape victims availed of the scheme in 2016-17. The number of victims availing the compensation is nowhere close to the actual number of rape victims reported. So far TS has rolled out Rs 5.9 crore and AP has given away Rs 6.62 crore since the scheme was implemented.
Victims of rape and the families of the murdered are paid money to compensate them for being at the receiving end of the crime. Either the judge will recommend the amount or the victim should approach the district legal services authority with an application.
But going by the data provided by the government, very few victims avail of the compensation. Statistics say in that in 2016, 39,000 rape cases were reported across the country and the conviction per cent of those 39,000 cases was 25 per cent.
However the allocation figures show that most victims have not applied for the compensation.
Senior advocate L. Venkat Reddy said, “The victims should be briefed by state council and the police and those dealing with the case. In case the court does not recommend the compensation, the victim or the family must approach the district legal authorities. Most victims don’t know of such government compensation and also lose hope due to the time consuming procedures”.