The Congress party came down heavily on the BJP led Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday and demanded strict action against the accused in the Unnao case, saying the Uttar Pradesh government has to wake up to realise that the state is becoming the rape capital of the country.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Srimate said responsibility in the Unnao case lies at the “doorstep” of the UP government where law and order has completely collapsed.

“We demand strict action in the matter. The UP government has to wake up to realise that the state is becoming the rape capital of the country,” she said.
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 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”.

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.

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”.

There are reports of 86 rapes in the last 11 months in Unnao.