Pointing to the increase in rape cases under the POSCO act in Karnataka, the state's Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy was quoted by The News Minute as saying that they might take a leaf out of Madhya Pradesh and may award death sentence to rapists of minor girls. Notably, the Madhya Pradesh cabinet unanimously passed a Bill to award death penalty to those involved in the rape or gang-rape of girls below the age of 12 in December 2017.