'We failed as a nation': Gautam Gambhir after Unnao rape victim passes away

After the elation of the Hyderabad rape accused being killed in an encounter by police, the nation mourned the death of the 24-year-old Unnao rape victim. The victim was burned alive by a group of five men, including the accused who had gotten out of jail after getting bail. The victim had been gang-raped in December and the case had become the talk of the whole nation.

Unfortunately, the victim suffered 90% burns on her body as she was set ablaze by the group on Thursday while she was on her way to Raebareli for a hearing of the rape case, which she had filed against them. She was airlifted to Safdarjung hospital in Delhi but succumbed to her injuries and a cardiac arrest. This has led to mass protests all over Uttar Pradesh against the government.

“Today I feel ashamed as an Indian,” says Gautam Gambhir

Former India cricketer and current BJP MP from East Delhi, Gautam Gambhir expressed deep sorrow on the death of the Unnao rape victim. “It is very disheartening that today we all have failed as a nation. Today I feel ashamed as an Indian as we failed a woman, who was first raped then burned brutally by the accused. It is disheartening that we as a nation have failed to save her,” Gambhir was quoted as saying by NDTV.

The family of the deceased had demanded a visit from UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and was instead buried in the fields owned by her family on the outskirts of her village in the police presence. The family said that the victim was to join her job in the bank in a day or two before the incident where she was set on fire and want the government to provide a bank job for the youngest sister.

Meanwhile, Gambhir asked the parties not to politicize the issue and to stand in unity in support of rape survivors. “It is very hard to feel the pain of the woman’s family. The nation belongs to both men and women. We have to stop a situation where women feel unsafe after sunset. I want this country for women as much as for men. They have contributed a lot to the building of the nation. There is a need to change the mindsets and not the dressing style of women,” he further said. He also said that the accused must be punished within a month and hanging should be the legal punishment for the same.

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