Panipat gangrape: Congress, AAP attack Khattar govt over law and order

Opposition parties on Friday slammed the Manohar Lal Khattar government in Haryana over the alleged gangrape of three women and the murder of another woman in Panipat, possibly by the same gang.

The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claimed the law and order situation in Haryana had worsened and women were not safe even inside their homes.

The gangrape took place in a village farmhouse. An Uttar Pradesh resident told police that he, along with his family, some relatives and their families, had been living there in huts for several months.

The complainant said four masked men carrying weapons forced their way into the house when they were sleeping.

The accused used ropes to tie the family members of the three women labourers before raping them.

The accused also robbed their cash and jewellery, police said earlier.

In a separate incident, which took place about a kilometre away from the spot where the first crime was committed, an ailing woman was attacked, leading to her death, while her husband was robbed, police said.

'The accused are still at large. Investigations are on,' Station House Officer of Matlauda police station Inspector Vijay said.

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Kumari Selja alleged women are not safe in their own homes too.

'There is no fear of law among criminals. Khattar saheb, what kind of law and order is this?' Selja posted in Hindi on X.

She demanded that the 'monsters' of both these incidents who have put humanity to shame should be arrested immediately and given strict punishment.

AAP leader Anurag Dhanda also hit out at the Khattar government over the Panipat incident.

'A gang comes and for the entire night they go on a rampage. And police are clueless. This shows the law and order situation in the state,' he said.