Rohtak gang rape | Case similar to 'Nirbhaya'; BJP govt failed to keep crime in check : Former CM Hooda

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday alleged that there is a complete breakdown of law and order in the state and the BJP government has failed to put a check on the rising crime graph.

He demanded exemplary punishment for the culprits in the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman from Sonipat and said such incidents, wherever those happen, shame the humanity.

The decomposed and mutilated body of the woman, who went missing from Sonipat on May 9 and was gang-raped and brutally murdered, was found near the Industrial Model Township in Urban Estate, Rohtak, on May 11. Stray dogs had bitten off the face and lower portion of her body.

An autopsy of the victim showed the bones of the woman's skull were shattered into pieces and "some sharp-edged objects may have been inserted in her private parts".

"The case is similar to the one which took place in Delhi a few years back. In the 'Nirbhaya' case, the Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence to the four convicts. In this case too, the culprits should be awarded same punishment," said Hooda.

He said the shocking incident was a grim reminder of how the law-and-order situation in the state has deteriorated under the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government.

The horrifying crime, which occurred just days after the Supreme Court held that the culprits in the 'Nirbhaya' gang rape case will hang, prompted Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to assert that the issue of women's safety needs to be revisited.

The incident took place barely a month after the state government, launched a special drive called 'Operation Durga' to stop incidents of eve-teasing and harassment of women.

Asserting that the latest incident had shocked the entire nation, he hit out at the state government saying, "There is not a single day when incidents of serious crimes are not reported in the state."

"Criminal activities are going on unchecked and the crime graph is rising. This government has failed on all fronts, it has proved to be a failure," Hooda said.

Informing that the gang rape victim was the sole breadwinner of her family, he said, "She worked in a factory, her brother is not working, while father is a labourer. The government should give adequate compensation to them." About 'Operation Durga', Hooda said, "This government believes in just hollow slogans. It has done no work on the ground and no development has taken place. They are only busy in giving slogans, changing names of existing schemes, transferring officials and indulging in witch-hunt against political rivals."

"The people of Haryana had high hopes from the BJP government, but today, every section of society is feeling frustrated. The government has failed to deliver," he claimed.