Accusing the Kathua gang rape and murder case, President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday stated that it is shocking that such incidents are happening even 70 years after Independence. He addressed at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University in Katra.

"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," President Kovind said on Wednesday.

The remark comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured that no criminal will be spared. "Our daughters will get justice. Such incidents shake our sensibilities," he added, in a series of tweets. He further added, "I had the courage to speak with the Red Fort, question boys, not girls. From family situations, social values to the justice system – we need to strengthen everything. Only then will be able to create the dream of Baba Sahib, new India."

There has been gigantic hue and cry over the recent cases of gang rapes in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. An eight-year-old girl child in Kathua in the Jammu region, who hailed to a wandering Bakerwal community, had departed from near her home in the forests on January 10.  After a week, her body was recovered in the same area, and medical examination barbed towards sexual assault and torture.