‘Silence is no longer an option’: 10 signs from nationwide protests against Unnao, Kathua crimes

Hundreds of protestors marched in various cities on Sunday evening to seek action against the accused in the Kathua and Unnao rape cases. There were protests in Delhi’s Parliament Street, in Bandra (West) in Mumbai and several parts of Bengaluru.

Citizens also organised demonstrations in Thiruvananthapuram and Bhopal, NDTV reported. In Goa, there was a candlelight vigil in Panjim. In other parts of the state, protest marches were also held in Margao and Calangute.

The protest in Delhi was held under the “Not in My Name” banner, which last saw demonstrations countrywide in June 2017. Those protests were held against the spate of lynchings of Muslims and other incidents of communal and caste-based violence. In Mumbai, about 500 people attended the protest at Carter Road in Bandra, the police said.

In the Jammu town of Kathua, eight people, including a juvenile, have been chargesheeted for abducting, drugging and raping an eight year-old-girl before murdering her in January. Two Bharatiya Janata Party ministers resigned on Friday after massive outrage over their presence at a rally in support of one of the accused.

In Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao, a BJP MLA is accused of raping a 17-year-old girl in June 2017. On Saturday, he was sent to the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation for seven days but only after the Allahabad High Court took suo motu cognisance of the crime and asked for the legislator to be arrested.

In addition to these protests, Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal’s indefinite hunger strike against the crimes at Rajghat in Delhi entered the third day. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Maliwal at her protest site on Sunday.

After facing criticism for his silence on the rapes for days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the incidents in Kathua and Unnao “cannot be part of a civilised society”.

Here are some photographs from the protests.