Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday expressed grief over the death of the Unnao rape victim, who died of her burn injuries at a Delhi hospital after being set ablaze by five men on Thursday.
In a statement, the Chief Minister said that he is “extremely saddened to hear of the woman’s death” and added that “all the accused have been arrested”. He further said the case “will be heard in a fast-track court and the culprits will be given the strictest punishment”.
CM श्री @myogiadityanath जी ने उन्नाव की घटना को अत्यंत दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण एवं बालिका की मृत्यु को अति दुःखद बताया है।
उन्होंने परिवार के प्रति गहरी संवेदना व्यक्त करते हुए कहा कि सभी आरोपी गिरफ्तार हो चुके हैं। मुकदमे को फास्ट ट्रैक कोर्ट में ले जाकर दोषियों को कड़ी सजा दिलाई जाएगी।— CM Office, GoUP (@CMOfficeUP) December 7, 2019
The victim, who had suffered more than 90 per cent burn injuries, was airlifted to Safdarjung Hospital on Thursday evening and was in an extremely critical condition. Later, at 11:40 pm on Friday, she died of cardiac arrest.
The woman, who had survived a brutal gangrape earlier in March, was on Thursday assaulted and set ablaze by five accused in the case in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district when she was on her way to the Rae Bareli court to testify against the men.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya termed the incident as “extremely unfortunate” and assured the family of the victim that the culprits will not be spared.
Uttar Pradesh Justice Minister, Brajesh Pathak, said his team will appeal to the concerned court today to take the case to a fast-track court. “We will also appeal to hear the case on a day-to-day basis,” he said.
On reports of 86 rapes in the last 11 months in Unnao, the minister said that these cases should not be politicised. He further said that the culprits will not be spared however powerful they are and will take the strictest action against them.
Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief, Swati Maliwal, who had been sitting on a fast unto death over the assault of the Unnao rape victim, has appealed to the Uttar Pradesh government and Central Government that the rapists be hanged within a month.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party leader and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is sitting on a ‘dharna’ outside Vidhan Sabha in protest against the Unnao rape case.
Lashing out at the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh under Yogi Adityanath, Akhilesh told reporters that the incident is “extremely condemnable”.
“This is a black day. It is not the first such incident under this BJP government. CM had said in this very assembly that ‘the culprits would be punished’, but they could not save the life of a daughter,” he said.
“Till the day Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, state Home Secretary and DGP do not resign, justice will not be done,” the SP leader said, adding that the party will conduct a “shokh sabha” (mourning) in all the districts of the state over the Unnao rape case on Sunday.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi has attacked the Yogi Adityanath government over the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh after the death of the Unnao rape victim.
“I pray to God to give courage to the Unnao victim’s family in this hour of grief”, Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet on Saturday.
She criticised the state government over the law and order situation and said: “It is a failure of all of us that we could not give her justice. Socially, we are all guilty, but it also shows the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh.”
उन्नाव की पिछली घटना को ध्यान में रखते हुए सरकार को तत्काल पीड़िता को सुरक्षा क्यों नहीं दी गई? जिस अधिकारी ने उसका FIR दर्ज करने से मना किया उस पर क्या कार्रवाई हुई? उप्र में रोज रोज महिलाओं पर जो अत्याचार हो रहा है, उसको रोकने के लिए सरकार क्या कर रही है ?
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) December 7, 2019
Priyanka Gandhi, who was on a two-day visit to the state left for Unnao to meet the family members of the victim.
Meanwhile, the Twitter is abuzz with #unnaorape with netizens now calling for a Hyderabad-style encounter for the perpetrators of the crime in Uttar Pradesh by the UP Police.
In a major development, all four accused in the rape and murder of woman veterinarian in Hyderabad were killed in an encounter with the police when they were trying to escape during the recreation of the crime at the same spot where the woman’s body was found.