From Priyanka Chopra to Alia Bhatt, Bollywood reacts to the horrific Hathras case condemning it as a replay of 'Nirbhaya'

India is once again reeling at the news of a gang-rape of a young woman. The 19-year-old was raped and tortured in Uttar Pradesh's city of Hathras a few feet from her mother, then left to die. She was taken to hospital and moved to New Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital afterwards. This morning, the bruised, beaten and tormented woman died. The case is a gross echo of the brutal rape of a medical student back in 2012, in what has since been called the Nirbhaya case. Political personalities and Bollywood celebrities took to social media to express anger over the shocking incident on Tuesday.

Actor Akshay Kumar, known for working in movies that empower women, expressed his, tweeting, "Angry & Frustrated! Such brutality in #Hathras gangrape.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-its the least we can do. (sic)"

Anushka Sharma shared on Instagram story: "The horrific story of Hathras gangrape has devastated me...I sincerely hope that strictest punishment is given to the barbaric men who have carried out such a horrific, inhuman act on a young life and caused her family irreparable pain."

Global icon and Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra sought justice for the victim. She took to Instagram to share a post which read, "The disrespect and abuse, The frustration and anger, The sadness and helplessness, These emotions replay on loop. Why the hate? Are the parents raising boys listening? Is the law mute to the screams? How many more Nirbhayas? How many more years?"

After several Bollywood celebrities demanded justice on social media, for the Hathras gang rape incident, now Alia Bhat joined the bandwagon to seek justice for the victim. Taking to her Instagram story, Alia wrote, “They cut her tongue but they could not silence her. She now speaks in a billion voices #Hathras”

Disha Patani also shared a post in her Instagram story to express her disappointment over what transpired with the victim and sought justice for her. The post featured a sketch of a girl (victim of Hathras case) with a bleeding tongue and had a message which read as “Justice For Manisha”.

Similarly strident, actor Richa Chadha tweeted, "#JusticeForHathrasVictim everyone deserves to live with dignity. Punish the perpetrators."

Kangana Ranaut said: “Shoot these rapists publicly, what is the solution to these gang rapes that are growing in numbers every year? What a sad and shameful day for this country. Shame on us we failed our daughters.”

Yami Gautam echoed the sentiment. She tweeted, "Tried really hard to gather my thoughts before expressing my sorrow, anger & disgust. It’s 2020 & still so many Nirbhayas have to give their lives. Can’t imagine the pain she must have endured & her family. Praying for severe punishment & justice #RIPManishaValmiki."

Swara Bhasker retweeted a tweet by user who had asked in Hindi if the TV channels, who have been running breaking news on Rhea Chakraborty and Deepika Padukone, would give similar coverage to Hathras victim? She wrote categorically “nahin (no)” in Hindi.

‘Housefull 4’ actor Riteish Deshmukh condemned the gang-rape in Hathras and demanded that the perpetrators are brought to justice. He tweeted: "The culprits of this brutality & horrific crime should be hanged in public. #Hathras"

"We forgot the Hathras victim. We failed her at every level. This is on our collective conscience," wrote Dia Mirza on Twitter.

Nimrat Kaur posted: "So apparently the extent of the atrocity can go beyond what's already unthinkable. The family's deprived of a respectable farewell to their little girl. Easily one of the darkest moments we've witnessed as a country. #Hathras #JusticeForManishaValmiki"

Farhan Akhtar calling it a sad day wondered how long these incidents would be allowed to continue. He wrote: "Broken heart Sad sad day. How much longer can this be allowed to go on .. #Hathras''

Payal Ghosh, who recently accused Anurag Kashyap of abuse, expressed on Twitter her utter disgust and condemned heart breaking incident . She tweeted : ‘’The little girl aged just 19 was gang raped and sadly she has succumbed to death. The accused are in custody. I am broken and all I ask for is immediate justice. Justice delayed is justice denied. Let's take some time to pray for the girl. #HangTheRapists #RIPManishaValmiki’’.

“Sad sad sad!!!! Speechless!! #Hathras ,” wrote Pulkit Samrat on Twitter.

Abhishek Bachchan had a simple, angry message: "THIS MUST STOP!!!! #Hathras Beyond disgusted."

Actor Parineeti Chopra tweeted a heartfelt note as well. She wrote, "Humans or monsters? Won’t say animals, because have you seen how loving and loyal animals are compared to what some of us have become? I am disgusted to be called a human being if those monsters are… I am so sorry #Hathras."