India becoming Afghanistan: Singer Chinmayi lashes out over Kalkaji gang-rape

Singer and activist Chinmayi Sripada has condemned law enforcement and women's safety in the capital in the wake of the Kalkaji gang-rape, which forced Delhi’s Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) to shift classes online following an early-morning operation by the police near its back gate. Sripada criticised the prevailing security environment, arguing that escalating safety risks are pushing women out of public and educational spaces.

Expressing outrage over the institutional measures necessitated by the incident, Sripada likened the growing curbs on women's freedom in India to extreme socio-political regressions seen globally.

"India’s safety for women has come to this level in the National Capital," she wrote, questioning economic growth claims alongside ground-level security failures. She further argued that rising hyper-religious rhetoric and the systemic tolerance of male lawlessness are regressing women's rights, adding that "India is slowly becoming an Afghanistan" because the capital "cannot control its rapists."

Sripada’s remarks follow LSR's decision to shift all lectures online after a police team intercepted and nabbed a prime suspect in the Kalkaji minor gang-rape case just 50 metres from the college’s back gate. The proximity of the early-morning operation sparked severe anxiety among the student body, prompting the LSR Students' Union to convene an emergency meeting to address perimeter security and demand stricter safety protocols around the campus.

This is not the first time Sripada has called out institutional inaction regarding crimes against women. Following the release of the landmark Justice Hema Committee report, she vocalised sharp criticism against the culture of silence in the entertainment industry, highlighting the steep personal and professional costs women face when speaking out against entrenched power structures.

Known for her vocal stance against cyber abuse, Sripada revealed in late 2025 that she was targeted with a morphed nude image online. In a video shared on X, she detailed how the coordinated trolling escalated to include death threats against her children.

Meanwhile, classes at Lady Shri Ram College remain in online mode as the administration coordinates with the Delhi Police to review security around the campus perimeter. Police confirmed that all three suspects in the Kalkaji gang-rape case remain in custody as the investigation proceeds.