Jammu: President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday condemned gang rape and murder of the eight-year-old Kashmir girl in Kathua and wondered what kind of society India was developing into.
He said even 70 years after independence if an incident like this happens in the country, it is “shameful.”
“After 70 years of independence such an incident occurring in any part of the country is shameful. We have to think what kind of society are we developing? It is our responsibility to ensure such a thing does not happen to any girl or woman,” the President said while addressing the sixth convocation of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University in Katra in Jammu and Kashmir.
President Kovind’s remarks came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that no criminal will be spared. “Our daughters will get justice. Such incidents shake our sensibilities,” the Prime Minister had said.
A countrywide protest took place following horrific incidents of rape in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. An eight-year-old girl child in Kathua in the Jammu region, who belonged to Bakerwal community, a nomadic tribe, had disappeared from near her home in the forests on January 10. A week later, her body was found in the same area, and medical examination pointed towards sexual assault and torture.
