Bollywood demands justice in Unnao, Kathua rape cases

Mumbai: Inhuman, disgusting and chilling is how the Indian film industry described the Kathua and Unnao rapes and demanded the government to act swiftly against the perpetrators.

Personalities such as Sania Mirza, Akshay Kumar, Farhan Akhtar and Abhishek Bachchan took to social media to condemn the two brutal incidents that have shocked the nation.

Celebrities such as Sonam Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Ranvir Shorey and Richa Chadha criticised the politicisation of the crimes in the name of religion.

In Unnao, a teen rape survivor claimed BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar had raped her and her father had died in police custody. The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government today filed a first information report (FIR) against Sengar, following public outrage.

In Kathua, eight-year-old Asifa was allegedly gangraped by six men who had held her in captivity in a small temple village for a week in January. She was drugged so that she could be sexually assaulted again before being bludgeoned to death.

Tennis star Sania Mirza took to Twitter to question the horrific incidents.

"Is this really the kind of country we we want to be known as to the world today ?? If we can't stand up now for this 8-year-old girl regardless of our gender, caste, colour or religion then we don't stand for anything in this world... Not even humanity... Makes me sick to the stomach.

"Justice needs to be done... For the sake of keeping our faith in the judiciary and the system alive... I really hope and pray justice is done... And soon... #UnnaoHorror #UnnaoRapeCase," Mirza wrote on Twitter.

Actor Dia Mirza tweeted, "My heart is broken and I am filled with anger and disgust. Asifa has suffered and gone at the hands of criminals who have also evidently murdered our collective conscience! #Asifa #Kathua #Unnao."

Akshay Kumar demanded quick and efficient deliverance of justice.

"Yet again we've failed as a society. Can't think straight as more chilling details on little Asifa's case emerge... Her innocent face refuses to leave me. Justice must be served, hard and fast!" he tweeted.

Arjun Kapoor also criticised the government for the mishandling of the two rape cases and letting justice being denied in a country divided over caste and religious lines.