Manisha succumbed to her injuries and died in the hospital ICU on September 29, 2020. As per the media reports on Tuesday, Manisha Valmiki told Policemen in her statement that she was raped by four upper caste men on her way to collect fodder for animals on September 14. However, if the incident of her brutal rape, torture and death wasn’t enough trauma for the family; they were also denied the right to receive her dead body and perform the last rites. As The Print noted in its report, Utter Pradesh authorities burnt Manisha Valmiki’s dead body in a pre-dawn funeral against the family’s wishes despite their many pleadings. Ever since, there has been a demand for justice all over social media. The social media uproar over Manisha Hathras rape case doesn’t seem to be coming to an end.
Netizens Demand #JusticeForManishaValmiki
TanushreePandey, a journalist with India Today also shared videos of Policemen burning her dead body against family’s consent on her Twitter handle. The incident exposing the still wide caste divides in the state has ever since triggered much anger on all social media platforms. More and more people have expressed their anger through social media posts with#Hathras, #RIPManishaValmiki and #JusticeForManishaValmiki. However, it wasn’t just the commoners who came out in support of the family expressing anger over the incident. Several Bollywood celebrities including Anushka Sharma, Kangna Ranaut, Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor Khan and many others. Akshay Kumar tweeted, “Angry & Frustrated!Such brutality in #Hathrasgangrape.When will this stop?Our laws & their enforcement must be so strict that the mere thought of punishment makes rapists shudder with fear!Hang the culprits.Raise ur voice to safeguard daughters & sisters-it is the least we can do.”
Furthermore, many netizens and celebrities including Kangna Ranaut have even posted on social media demanding the convicts to be hanged publicly in order to set an example.
Another Twitter user correctly pointed out in her caption, “It’sManisha today… And tomorrow???? #JusticeForManishValmiki”
There were also others who simply could not help but remember the unfortunate night of 2012 Delhi Gang Rape Case and how badly we have failed to protect women in the country. Calling her another Nirbhaya, netizens expressed anger and disappointment on how things haven’t changed in the past years. However, despite all these voices demanding justice and justified anger over the incident, there was another incident, though much less significant but one that could have been possibly avoided with a little care. India Today reported that amidst the social media outrage with netizens demanding justice for #manishavalmiki, photo of an unrelated girl misidentified as theHathras victim also went viral on social media.
