New Delhi [India], December 27 : Women's rights activist Yogita Bhayana on Saturday criticised the government for "shielding the criminals" of the 2017 Unnao rape case, asserting that the ruling party is "protecting the criminals" rather than the victim.
The women's rights activist alleged "injustice" and said that victims across the country continue to be denied justice.
Speaking to ANI in the national capital, Bhayana alleged that influential individuals were being shielded.
"A BJP person is involved in the Ankita Bhandari case as well, and the current government is shielding these criminals," she said, linking the issue to what she described as a broader failure of accountability when powerful individuals are involved.
Bhayana expressed a deep sense of disillusionment, saying, "Powerful people can manipulate the judiciary and I do not trust the Indian judiciary anymore."
Expressing anguish over the prolonged legal and political developments surrounding the case, she said, "This is an injustice with all the victims in the country. Whatever happened to the girl from Unnao is not acceptable."
Bhayana said she and other activists intend to raise the issue at the national level. "We want to register our presence in the Parliament for this issue. The voices of victims cannot be ignored anymore," she said.
Earlier on Friday, a group of women activists and protesters gathered outside the Delhi High Court to oppose the conditional bail granted to former Uttar Pradesh MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the rape case.
Raising slogans against the court order and the government, the protesters termed the bail a "setback to women's justice" and demanded its immediate reconsideration.
The protestors, many of them women, assembled in significant numbers and shouted slogans questioning the decision to suspend Sengar's sentence.
Police personnel were deployed in large numbers, and protesters were asked to remain peaceful as restrictions under the law were imposed in the area.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court order that suspended the sentence and granted bail to Kuldeep Sengar.
On December 23, the Delhi High Court granted a suspension of sentence to Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case. Sengar, who was convicted by a Delhi CBI court and sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape of a minor, has challenged his conviction before the High Court, where his appeal is presently pending.