A 23-year-old woman, who was set on fire by men accused of raping her in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao, died at Delhi's Safdarjung hospital on Friday night. The woman, who had suffered 90 per cent burns after she was set on fire on Thursday, died of a cardiac arrest at 11:40 pm, where she had been air-lifted from Lucknow's SMC government hospital on Thursday evening.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who has faced severe criticism over the incident, said that the case will be heard by a fast-track court. Yogi Adityanath said he is "extremely saddened to hear of the woman's death". "The case will be heard in a fast-track court and strictest of punishment will be given to the culprits," the Chief Minister said in a statement.
The police said that the five men identified as Shubham, Shivam, Harishankar, Umesh and Ram Kishore, had allegedly thrown kerosene on the woman and set her ablaze when she was on her way to a local court for the hearing of a rape case she had filed.
The woman, in her burnt state, was conscious all the way to the hospital, where she gave a statement to the police identifying all five attackers. She told the police that she was thrashed and stabbed before being set on fire near her village by five men, including two she had accused of raping her and their fathers. She was on her way to a court hearing in her rape complaint when the men surrounded her near a railway station.
Here are the updates of the Unnao case:
The autopsy report of the Unnao rape victim showed that she died of extensive burn injuries, a senior doctor at the Safdarjung hospital said on Saturday.
Asserting that time-bound action should be taken against those accused of violence against women, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday asked why stringent steps are not being taken to prevent such incidents from taking place.
"If people have any humanity, then they will feel sad about the Unnao incident. Despite having law and order, we are unable to find a solution to curb violence against women. Why are stringent steps not being taken to prevent such incidents from taking place in the country?" asked the Congress leader, reported news agency ANI.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday called the death of the rape victim from Unnao "shameful" for every Indian and said he hoped that the Uttar Pradesh government will hang the culprits "to set an example" for the society.
The rape victim, who was airlifted to a Delhi hospital after being set ablaze allegedly by five persons, including two men accused of raping her, died on Friday night.
The father of a 23-year-old woman from Uttar Pradesh's Unnao, who died at a hospital in Delhi during treatment for burn injuries she suffered after she was set on fire by men accused of raping her, has said he wants the accused to be "shot dead", referring to the killing of four rape accused by the police in Telangana on Friday." itemprop="description
"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," Congress spokesperson Supriya Srimate said.
Since last few years and especially under current BJP government women are not safe. In UP not a single day goes by without a case of crime against women. Until state governments take time bound actions against criminal elements, these incidents will not stop said Mayawati
Till the day UP Chief Minister, state Home Secretary and DGP don't resign, justice will not be done. Tomorrow we will conduct a shokh sabha in all districts of the state over Unnao rape case: Akhilesh Yadav
Keeping in mind the previous Unnao incident, why did the government not give immediate protection to the victim? What action was taken on the officer who refused to register his FIR? What is the government doing to stop the atrocities on women daily in UP?, tweeted Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
UP Government should take special initiative soon to provide proper justice to the victim's family. The BSP is with the victim's family in this hour of grief, said Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati.
"I appeal to the Uttar Pradesh govt and central govt that the rapists in this case (Unnao rape case) should be hanged within a month," Swati Maliwal said.
National Commission for Women (NCW) Chief Rekha Sharma is at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi where the Unnao rape victim died due to a cardiac arrest on Friday night. Questioning the laxity in the security of the rape victim, Ms Sharma wrote a letter to UP DGP over the incident.