After 70 years of independence it is shameful said Ram Nath Kovind on Kathua gangrape-murder

President Ram Nath Kovind today condemned the horrific Kathua gangrape-murder and wondered what kind of society India was developing into.

He further said about the rape and murder of the Kashmiri eight-year-old, that an incident like this happening in a country that's 70 years into its independence is shameful.

"After 70 years of independence, such an incident occurring in any part of the country is shameful. We have to think what kind of society are we developing. It is our responsibility to ensure such a thing does not



happen to any girl or woman," said President Kovind in an address at the sixth convocation of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir.

Before the President's address, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti also spoke of the crimes against the eight-year-old Kathua girl and the incident that occurred in January.

"How can someone do such a cruel thing to a small girl who is a manifestation of Mata Vaishno Devi, there is something wrong with the society," said Mufti at the convocation event.