After Unnao Victim's Death, On Hunger Strike, Swati Maliwal Says Ashamed Of Modi Govt

Following the death of the Unnao rape victim, DCW chief Swati Maliwal on Saturday accused the government of being “deaf” and “insensitive” and not hearing the “screams” of rape victims. The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief, who is on an indefinite strike to press her demand that rapists be hanged within six months of their conviction, told reporters that she is “ashamed” of her country’s government.

The rape victim from Unnao, airlifted to Delhi and admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital here after she was set ablaze allegedly by five persons, died on Friday night.

Earlier on Hyderabad encounter, Maliwal said, the incident would send out a strong message, but rued that there were still thousands of rape victims, awaiting justice. Four accused of raping and murdering of a 25-year-old woman Hyderabad veterinarian were killed in an alleged exchange of fire with police in the morning.      

“Now if the rapists were trying to run away, police obviously will have to do an encounter. That is exactly why we are appealing to the Centre to create a strong system in the country where rapists, especially in such serious cases, are given death penalty within six months after following all due court processes,” she said.

Stressing that there should be certainty and swiftness in punishment in all cases, she said one does not know the circumstances which led to the killings of the four accused of raping the Hyderabad veterinary doctor.

“Whether they were actually trying to run away or the police was so fed up thinking that while we have caught the culprits, it will take several years to punish them... “Maybe they were angry and they did not want them to live off taxpayers’ money,” she said.

She said “there are thousands of ‘Nirbhayas’ (a name coined by Indian media to refer to rape victims), who are still awaiting justice”.