Rahul Gandhi: India is rape capital of the world

India is known as the "rape capital of the world" and the other countries are wondering why India is unable to look after its women, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Saturday.

"India is known as the rape capital of the world. Foreign nations are asking why India is unable to look after its daughters and sisters. An MLA of the Bharatiya Janata Party from Uttar Pradesh is involved in the rape of a woman and the Prime Minister doesn't say a word," Gandhi said while addressing his party workers here.

He also termed the death of the Unnao rape victim a 'shame on humanity' and conveyed condolences to the deceased's family.

"The sad and heart-wrenching death of Unnao's innocent daughter, which is a shame on humanity, has angered and stunned me. One more daughter lost her life while waiting for justice and security. I convey my condolences to the deceased's family in this time of grief," read Gandhi's tweet in Hindi.

After battling for life for more than 40-hours and later airlifted to Delhi for treatment at Safdarjung Hospital, the Unnao Rape victim died at 11:40 pm on Friday. The 23-year-old was set ablaze while on her way to a court hearing on Wednesday morning.

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 )