Citizens raise their voice against national shame, demand justice

NEW DELHI: Hundreds of people gathered at

Jantar Mantar

on Sunday evening under the banner, “Not In My Name”, to protest against the recent rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in

Kathua

. Carrying placards with emotive messages, such as “beti ko bachao pehle, phir beti padhao”, the agitators chanted slogans against the government.

Nisha Sharma, a student at Delhi University, said: “It’s inhuman that even kids are not safe anymore. Even after all these years, the situation hasn’t changed a bit.”

The protesters also spoke out against another incident in

Unnao

where a teen was allegedly raped by a BJP MLA. “We want justice and unless the government punishes the accused, we are not going to step back. Enough is enough. UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath should immediately take action in the Unnao incident,” Yashika, another college student, said.

The protest saw participants from across various age groups.

“The number of rape cases is increasing day by day. This level of brutality is not acceptable. Until when will women continue to remain a soft target and government stay a mute spectator?” Vibha Singh, who runs an NGO, asked.

At Connaught Place, small groups staged separate protests as they waved the national flag. “We are in this together. I don’t understand why rape cases are becoming a political issue. This way, we will never find a solution to the problem. Setting political differences aside, everyone should come together to fight this and there is a need for strict enforcement of law,” demanded Jatin Sharma, a Gurgaon-based entrepreneur.