The gangrape and murder of a
50-year-old woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun district could have been avoided if
the victim would not go out in the evening, said a member of the National
Commission for Women (NCW) on Thursday, PTI reported.

“I tell women
again and again that they should never go out at odd hours under anyone’s
influence,” NCW member Chandramukhi Devi was quoted as saying while
meeting the family members of the victim.

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“I think if
she had not gone out in the evening or was accompanied by any child of the
family perhaps this incident could have been avoided. But this was pre-planned
as she was called through a phone call. She went (out) and then returned in
such a state,” she is stated to have told reporters in the victim’s
village in the district.

The 50-year-old Anganwadi
worker, having gone to a temple, was found dead in mysterious circumstances
while her family members alleged that the priest and his aides have committed
the crime.

Also read: Badaun rape case: Two of three accused arrested, STF to join investigation

Devi, on the other
hand, alleged inactivity on the part of the police, saying that timely action
might have saved the life of the victim.

“The SSP has told
me that the woman was found in an unconscious state and had she got treatment,
her life could have been saved. The FIR was filed late and the post mortem
examination was also done much later,” she said.