Amid the furore following the death of a rape victim, who was set ablaze by five men in Unnao on Thursday, Congress leader Ranjeet Ranjan on Saturday said that "all the rapists should be hanged in public".
Speaking to , Ranjan said: "The girl had already sustained 90 per cent of burn injuries. She was raped in December 2018, and an FIR was filed after three months. Since the last year, the victim was constantly being threatened by the family of the accused."
Ranjan lashed out at the government for failing to take any action against the rape accused, stating that "nearly 90 rape cases have occurred in the last 11 months in Unnao".
"The victim, in her last breath, asked for justice. The question is, whether the government and administration will take any action in the next 48 hours," she said.
Speaking on the Telangana encounter, where four people, accused of raping and murdering a woman veterinarian, were shot dead yesterday, Ranjan said: "The accused were fleeing and the police were within the law to enforce an encounter. Unlike the Unnao police, they did not let the accused flee."
She further stated that the rape convicts should be dealt with the harshest punishments, which will send out a message to the people not to repeat such crimes.
"We have to stand united on the issue of rape cases in the country. Earlier, we did not consider rape as a serious issue. It is high time that this issue is looked upon very seriously," she said.
After battling for life at Delhi's Safdarjung hospital, the Unnao rape victim who was set ablaze while on her way to a court hearing on Thursday morning, died at 11:40 pm on Friday.
On Thursday, the 23-year-old was airlifted from Lucknow's SMC government hospital to Safdarjung Hospital.
According to the police, five miscreants allegedly threw 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 in March.
( With inputs from ANI )