JIND, Haryana: Congress President Sonia Gandhi today met with the family of a Dalit girl who commited suicide after she was gang-raped by two youths from her neighbourhood on Saturday.
The victim belonged to a poor, Dalit family. She was allegedly raped by two youths from her neighbourhood Saturday, after which she doused herself with kerosene and set herself ablaze.
Taking a tough stand against the rising rapes cases in the country, Sonia said those guilty of the raping the teenaged girl would get the severest punishment.
Gandhi said that these kinds of incidents should stop, not just in Haryana but across the country.
Gandhi, who arrived in Sachhakhera village in Haryana's Jind district, about 150 km from the state capital Chandigarh, met the family for about 10 minutes and assured them of "full justice'.
"Main is tarah ki ghatna ki bharpoor ninda karti hoon. Doshi ko sakht se sakht saza milni chahiye (I criticise, in the strongest terms, these kinds of incidents. The guilty should get the severest punishment)," Gandhi told IANS.
Taking on khap panchayats, Sonia said: "We have democratic systems here. We have a judiciary. The law is in the hands of the judiciary and nobody else."
The victim was rushed to the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) at Rohtak where she succumbed to burn injuries.
In her dying statement, the victim told the police that she took the extreme step after the rape.
The mother of the victim said Tuesday that if the accused did not get severe punishment and if justice was not done, she would commit suicide herself.
The victim has six younger siblings.
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda accompanied the Congress President while she met the family of a Dalit girl who committed suicide after she was gang-raped in Haryana's Jind district over the weekend.
Gandhi's visit to Jind is being seen as a damage control exercise, as the Congress Government in Haryana, which is led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda is under sharp criticism for the rise in crimes against women in the state.
The Haryana government had on Thursday formed a three-member committee at district level to investigate, monitor and ensure speedy prosecution of such crimes.
According to reports, as many as 12 cases of rape and gang rape have occured in the state since September.
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