Activists cry for rule of law over Hyderabad encounter

Senior lawyer and human rights activist Sudha Ramalingam on Saturday expressed disappointment over the encounter of the four accused in Hyderabad rape and murder case and said it is against "the civilised notion of delivery of justice."

She was also of the view that all four men should have been punished by the due process of law.

"Justice has to be delivered by the judiciary and not anybody else. Encounter is something that is very barbaric and cannot be accepted at all. It is against the civilised notion of delivery of justice," she said.

"Safety of women is still a big issue because we are still in a patriarchal society. Boys should be taught from childhood about how to treat women equally and respectfully," Ramalingam added.

Senior advocate Kamini Jaiswal, who has long advocated for important criminal reforms, also related to Hyderabad's encounter and said " Yes, for victim's family it is a closure. They will have some sense of justice and no more have to run around the system. I appreciate that. But I cannot appreciate the celebration of the country."

"We are not living in a banana republic. If we give such power to the police to shoot down people then what is the need of the criminal justice system. We can't celebrate the encounter like this," Jaiswal added.

Activist Trupti Desai also commented on the matter and urged the Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath to take requisite measures for women's safety. " What will you do by making Ram Mandir when the Sita of your state is not safe? Girls are fearing to move outdoors. Children are afraid to go to schools and colleges. Please do something about the safety of women."

These comments from the activists came 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 )