Rahul Gandhi's "Dead Society" Remark After Unnao Rape Survivor's Mother Manhandled

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched an attack on the Centre after disturbing scenes emerged from Delhi involving the Unnao rape survivor and her elderly mother. The incident followed a controversial order by the Delhi High Court granting conditional bail to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who was convicted of raping the survivor in 2019.

"Is such treatment of a gang rape victim justified?" he wrote in Hindi on X. "Is her 'fault' that she dared to raise her voice for justice? It is extremely disappointing and shameful that her perpetrator (a former BJP MLA) was granted bail - especially when the victim is being repeatedly harassed and living in fear. Bail for rapists, and the victims treated like criminals - what kind of justice is this? We are not just a dead economy - with such inhumane incidents, we are also becoming a dead society. In a democracy, raising voices of dissent is a right, and suppressing it is a crime. The victim deserves respect, security, and justice - not helplessness, fear, and injustice."

क्या एक गैंगरेप पीड़िता के साथ ऐसा व्यवहार उचित है?

क्या उसकी “गलती” ये है कि वो न्याय के लिए अपनी आवाज़ उठाने की हिम्मत कर रही है?

उसके अपराधी (पूर्व BJP MLA) को ज़मानत मिलना बेहद निराशाजनक और शर्मनाक है - खासकर तब, जब पीड़िता को बार-बार प्रताड़ित किया जा रहा हो, और वो डर के… https://t.co/BZqrVNXMOy

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 24, 2025

The remarks came after a sequence of events that unfolded first late Tuesday night and then again on Wednesday morning in the national capital. Shocking visuals showed paramilitary personnel preventing the Unnao rape survivor and her mother from speaking to the media and forcing the elderly woman to jump off a moving bus.

The survivor and her mother had been protesting against the Delhi High Court's decision to suspend Sengar's sentence while his appeal against his conviction remains pending. On Tuesday night, the survivor, her mother and lawyer-activist Yogita Bhayana staged a protest at India Gate, where they expressed fears for their safety following the court's order. They were later detained.

On Wednesday morning, the mother and daughter planned to address the media at Mandi House, a traditional site for protests in Delhi. They were being transported in a bus escorted by personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The bus, however, did not stop at Mandi House.

According to a CRPF officer, the group had not been granted permission to protest either at Mandi House or at India Gate. The officer said they were to be taken either to Jantar Mantar -- another designated protest site -- or back to their residence in Delhi.

What followed triggered widespread outrage. Visuals showed the survivor's mother standing at the gate of the moving bus as CRPF personnel allegedly elbowed her and asked her to jump off. There were no women CRPF personnel on board, despite the bus carrying the survivor and her mother. After repeated pushing, the elderly woman jumped off the moving bus. The bus, with the survivor still inside, drove away.

Speaking to reporters after the incident, the survivor's mother broke down as she described what had happened. "We did not get justice. My daughter has been held captive. It seems they want to kill us," she said. "CRPF men took the girl and dropped me on the road. We will give up our lives. We were going to protest, but the CRPF men forcibly took her away. We were going to Mandi House to protest."

The survivor herself, whose life has been under constant security cover following a series of threats and tragedies, questioned the judiciary's decision. "How can our judiciary do this to us?" she asked. "An emergency hearing should be held. Kuldeep Singh has the money and power to get his way, and we have to suffer."

A CRPF officer later said that the force was escorting the survivor back to her residence in Delhi, where she and her family have been living under CRPF protection following years of intimidation, attacks and legal battles linked to the case.