Ram Nath Kovind passes bill to punish sexual offenders, cybercriminals in Telangana

President Ram Nath Kovind has given assent to a bill which will help tackle sexual offenders, cybercriminals and traditional unlawful acts like bootlegging and dacoity in Telangana, officials said Sunday.

The Telangana Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Dacoits, Drug-Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders and Land-Grabbers (Amendment) Bill, 2017 will replace 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.

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.

The amended Act has provisions to punish sexual offenders, explosive substances offenders, arms smugglers, cyber fraudsters and white-collar or financial offenders, the official said.

Through the amendment, the Telangana government 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.

There was no scope in the old legislation to check cyber frauds, sexual harassment, online gambling and fake certificates cases, which are common nowadays, another official said.

The amendment has provisions to deal with all these crimes, the official added.

(With inputs from agencies.)