Protesters block the road outside Ghazipur police station on Wednesday. Pallav Bhuyan
Traffic near Ghazipur and on NH24 was brought to a standstill on Wednesday morning as a small crowd protested demanding “capital punishment for the rape accused”. An equal number of police officials patrolled the area, as protesters shouted “Maulvi ko phaansi do”, “Jai Shri Ram” and other slogans.
Criticising police officers for not making more arrests, Satpal Malhotra (57), one of the protesters, said “the madrasa should be sealed and culprits hanged… they kidnap our daughters and rape them; we won’t tolerate it anymore.” As protest went on till noon, two passersby from the minority community were heckled by protesters.
Some also sought to draw a parallel with the Kathua rape case. Another protester, Lokesh Sharma (43), said, “The first case of a person being hanged to death over the rape of a child should be this one.”
In the evening, a candlelight protest was organised by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha at India Gate. BJP MPs Maheish Girri and Manoj Tiwari were among those who took part in the protest, which saw hundreds in attendance.