Lucknow: A 23-year-old woman from Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district, who had filed a rape case against two men from her village in March, is critical after she was set on fire on Thursday morning by five men outside her village when she was headed to a local court for hearing in the rape case. All five men, including the two rape-accused, have been arrested, said police.
One of the two rape accused was on the run and the other one was reportedly released on bail last week.
Amid attacks by the opposition parties over the incident, the state government has told the police to ensure “maximum punishment” for the accused. The Yogi Adityanath government has also sought a report from the state police on the matter, adding that it will fund the woman’s treatment.
The woman has suffered 60-70 per cent burn injuries, said officials. She was rushed to a specialised hospital in Lucknow for further treatment. “We got the information in the morning. The woman named the accused. We had formed teams to arrest them,” said Vikrant Vir, a senior police official from Unnao.
In March, the woman had filed a first information report against two men from her paternal village in Unnao, accusing them of raping her and also filming the act. The FIR was filed in the neighbouring Rae Bareli district reportedly after the intervention of a local court.
One of the accused was later arrested by the state police but he had managed to get bail last week. The other accused was on the run. Cops claim they had attached his property and lookout notices were issued against him.
“Our first priority is to save the woman. The criminal justice system has three-four compartments but we do not work like that. I do not want to blame anyone. The fact is that we did arrest one of the accused. I will get more facts on the case but I am sure that the local police would have opposed the bail application of the rape-accused,” UP Director General of Police OP Singh told NDTV.
Footage from the local hospital in Unnao where the woman was initially taken shows the woman on a stretcher being taken to an ambulance, surrounded by many policemen and senior officers.
The incident has prompted sharp attacks on the ruling BJP by the opposition. In a tweet, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi said the BJP “should stop spreading false propaganda”. “Yesterday, the home minister of the country and the Uttar Pradesh chief minister clearly lied that law and order in Uttar Pradesh has improved. Seeing such incidents everyday angers the mind. BJP leaders should stop spreading false propaganda,” Gandhi wrote in Hindi.
The Nationalist Congress Party’s Supriya Sule also commented on the incident in a series of tweets. “Extremely sad and shocked to hear that that Unnao Rape victim was burnt earlier this morning. If the culprits were not shielded and prosecuted on time this wouldn’t have happened. Complete state of Lawlessness in the state of Uttar Pradesh….” she wrote.
Rajya Sabha MP and Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said: “President’s rule should be imposed in UP where Jungle Raj is prevalent. There is no law and order in the state.”
Unnao BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj said the incident was “unfortunate”. “The Unnao incident is really unfortunate. I have used all my power so that the investigation is done and the accused get punishment. The accused in such heinous crimes should get capital punishment,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
