‘Mentality of backing culprits’: Nirbhaya’s mother blasts Gehlot over rape law remark

Asha Devi, the mother of a young woman who was brutally gangraped on a cold winter night in 2012 that sent shockwaves across the nation leading to the enactment of the Nirbhaya Act, on Sunday said Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s remarks against the law to hang rape accused was painful and embarassing.

Asha Devi said Gehlot’s comment reflected the chief minister's “mentality of supporting culprits”.

Also read | On uproar over rape law, Rajasthan CM says ‘I only said the truth’

Triggering a latest controversy, Gehlot has said that incidents of post-rape murders have increased after the Nirbhaya law was enacted. “Due to the law on the hanging of culprits after the Nirbhaya case, the incidents of murder after rape have increased. This is a dangerous trend being seen in the country,” the Congress veteran said.

Asha Devi said girls were murdered even before the then Congress-led UPA government brought the provision to hang the rape accused. She said it was people's mentality that was bad and not the law, while demanding an apology from Gehlot for his remarks.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Asha Devi said, “It's a very embarrassing statement, this is painful, especially to those families and girls who have been victims of such heinous crimes. He (CM Gehlot) has made fun of Nirbhaya, the law was made by their government.”

“Even, before the provision came, girls were murdered. This shows their (CM Gehlot) mentality of supporting culprits while they don't have sympathy for victims. The law isn't bad, people's mentality is. He must apologise and should give his resignation,” she added.

After his remarks landed him in a controversy, Gehlot said he had only spoken the truth.“I only spoke the truth. Whenever a rapist rapes a child, they then kill them for the fear of being identified… So many deaths have never happened before,” the chief minister was quoted as saying by ANI.

The four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case were hanged in Tihar jail in 2020, eight years after the crime.