Responding as one to the killing of a three-year-old child in Aligarh, Bollywood celebrities say justice must be served and the guilty punished with some calling for capital punishment.
Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Javed Akhtar and Sunny Leone are among those who expressed their anguish at the killing of the child earlier this week.
The mutilated body of the girl, missing since May 31, was found in a garbage dump on June 2, police said, suspecting that the brutal killing was a fallout of a monetary dispute.
Hashtags with the child's name were trending on Twitter with an estimated 56,000 tweets on the horrific case that shook the nation.
Two persons have been arrested in connection with the crime and the police said they will charge the duo under the National Security Act.
Akshay said he is feeling "horrified, upset and angry" and demanded strict action in the case.
More From This Section
"... This is definitely not the kind of world we want for our children. We need immediate and strictest punishment for such a heinous crime," he wrote on Twitter.
His wife, actor-author Twinkle Khanna, also expressed outrage over the incident and appealed to Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani to ensure that justice is done.
"It is heartbreaking to hear about the horrific murder of the two and a half year old little girl In Aligarh. I would request @smritiirani to ensure that swift action is taken against the perpetrators of this heinous crime," she tweeted.
"Just so disgusted and angered hearing about (victim). How can somebody even think of doing such a thing?!?! Speechless..." Abhishek tweeted.
Arjun Kapoor wrote that the barbaric rape and murder is a shame on humanity. "Justice must be served," he said.
Describing the killing as "inhuman and barbaric", Ayushmann Khurrana echoed him and said he extends his condolences to the victim's family.
Calling the case "extremely disturbing", actor Sidharth Malhotra said, "It's scary to be living in a world where even innocent children are not safe. I urge our authorities to take action to ensure that such a heinous crime is never repeated again!"
Azmi said, "This is so reprehensible that no words can be strong enough to condemn this heinous barbaric crime. My heart goes out to the parents. The perpetrator must be meted the severest punishment."
Huma Qureshi said, "I'm sorry my little sister. We could not protect you .... This makes me so angry and so sick... This is beyond barbaric. The law must act fast. We want the highest punishment for these sick perverts."
Genelia wrote, "Can't imagine the plight and the pain of (victim's) family and loved ones.. I'm so so sorry."
Actor Sunny Leone tweeted, "I'm sorry... that you had to you live in a world where Humans no longer understand Humanity!!!! May God look over you for Eternity as you are an Angel !!!! #ImSorry."