Kathua, Unnao rape case: Rahul leads mid-night march, targets Modi; updates on Business Standard. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi led midnight march to India Gate to protest Kathua and Unnao rape cases. Asked PM Narendra Modi should talk on 'beti bachao'. Know what is asifa bano kathua rape case. And check Kathua rape case details.

1. Kathua, Unnao rape case:
Rahul leads mid-night march,
targets Modi; updates
Kathua case: 8-year-old girl was gang-raped and murdered in a
Jammu temple. Rahul Gandhi led a midnight protest against
Modi govt's silence over Unnao rape case and Kathua
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi led a midnight march to the India Gate here on
Thursday to protest the Kathua and Unnao minor rape cases and said it's time
for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to walk the talk on 'beti bachao' (save the girl
child). "We are here against crimes being committed against women, against
rapes, violence and murder and the government must act on this. This is a
national issue and not a political one," Gandhi said at the march in the heart of
the national capital. On the Modi government's 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao'
initiative, Gandhi said it was the right slogan and the Prime Minister must start
work on 'Beti Bachao'. The BJP was apparently caught unawares about the
protest, with Congress workers from Delhi and neighbouring areas rushing to
the venue on the call of their party leader. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad
said they were protesting to awaken the Modi government from its "slumber".
Here's what happened according to Kathua gang rape and murder chargesheet:
8-year-old Asifa Bano had been missing in Rasana village since January 10. On
January 17, her mutilated body was found, bearing the marks of gang rape.
This week, local lawyers tried to prevent the police from filing the charge sheet,
and the Jammu High Court Bar Association called for a bandh on Wednesday
demanding that the investigation be handed over to the Central Bureau of
Investigation. The chargesheet lists as the main conspirator the caretaker of
the temple in Rasana where Asifa was allegedly held. The girl was gang-raped

2. repeatedly inside a village temple and kept sedated for hours before being
killed by six men, including one who had been "invited" to come all the way
from Meerut to "satisfy his lust", the police have told a court. The kidnapping,
rape and killing of the girl of the Bakherwal community at the Rassana area of
Kathua was part of a planned, chilling strategy to instill fear and drive the
nomadic tribe out of the region, reveals the 15-page charge-sheet filed by the
Jammu and Kashmir Police in the chief judicial magistrate's court.
Also Read : Unnao rape case: BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh in CBI custody, 10 updates
In the midst of the investigation, lawyers of the Jammu High Court Bar
Association (JHBA) undertook protests, demanding a CBI probe into the matter.
Meanwhile, Modi and his party members on Thursday kept a day-long fast
against the washout of the second part of Parliament's budget session due to
disruptions.
Top 10 developments on Kathua gangrape, murder of 8-year-old girl, protests by
Rahul Gandhi, celebrities and citizens:
1. Rahul Gandhi leads midnight protest at India Gate: Congress President Rahul
Gandhi led a midnight protest by the party workers at India Gate here against
the "slumber" of Narendra Modi government over the rape incidents in Jammu
and Kashmir's Kathua and Uttar Pradesh's Unnao and to seek justice for the
victims. The candle-light protest on Thursday midnight was called at a short
notice and saw people converging at the India Gate in sizeable numbers to
express their support. Congress leaders including Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi
Azad, Ambika Soni, Ashok Gehlot, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Sushmita Dev
walked from the party headquarters at 24 Akbar Road to the India Gate along
with hundreds of party workers holding candles.
Rahul Gandhi joined the protest around midnight. His sister Priyanka Gandhi
Vadra and her husband Robert Vadra were also present, along with their
daughter. He said there were repeated incidents of violence, rape and murder
of women in the country.
2. What Rahul Gandhi said: He said there were repeated incidents of violence,
rape and murder of women in the country. "We want the government to take
action. Today, women are feeling insecure to move out of their houses.
Somewhere a child, a woman is raped, killed and we want that the government
should resolve this. The women of the country should feel safe," he said.
Gandhi said it was a national issue and not a political issue. "This is an issue
concerning women," he said, adding that people from all parties as well as the
common man was at the India Gate. "I only want to say that the atrocities
being committed against women, the government should do something about
it."
He said Modi's slogan of "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" was a correct slogan. "We
are saying that Narendra Modi should begin the task of protecting women of
the country," he said.
3. Under Modi govt "Betis are under threat": A number of student and women
organisations on Thursday protested at the Parliament Street against the
Kathua and Unnao rape cases and questioned the silence of Modi. The

3. protesters also alleged Prime Minister Narendra Modi of keeping silent on the
issue. "Two gruesome incidents of rape have shocked the nation; not just for
the horrific nature of the crime, but also for the ruling party, the BJP trying to
shield the accused, with its sitting ministers even going on to support bandhs
and rallies against arresting of the rape accused," All India Students Association
state secretary Niraj Kumar said.