Rahul Gandhi said the "terrible crime must not go unpunished". (File)

The murder of a two-year-old in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh has stirred strong emotional reactions from political leaders across party lines including Congress chief Rahul Gandhi who said the murder "has shocked and disturbed me". Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi has called it an "inhuman, unspeakable crime".

Rahul Gandhi, in a tweet this morning, called for swift action in the case. "The horrific murder of a little girl in Aligarh, UP has shocked and disturbed me. How can any human being treat a child with such brutality? This terrible crime must not go unpunished. The UP police must act swiftly to bring the killers to justice," he wrote.

The horrific murder of a little girl in Aligarh, UP has shocked and disturbed me. How can any human being treat a child with such brutality? This terrible crime must not go unpunished. The UP police must act swiftly to bring the killers to justice. — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 7, 2019

On Sunday, police found the mutilated body of a two-year-old, who was kidnapped from her home on May 31. After she was murdered, her body was left at a garbage dump near her home on the outskirts of Aligarh.

The two men arrested for the murder - Zahid and another man - are her neighbours, who lived just half a km away. The child was allegedly killed because her family owed some money to the accused. Police was alerted to the horrific crime when they saw stray dogs carrying human body parts on Sunday.

The brutal murder has shocked the entire nation.

In a tweet this morning, Rahul's sister, Priyanka Gandhi, who is Congress's UP East in-charge, also condemned the crime. "The brutal murder in Aligarh is yet another inhuman, unspeakable crime against an innocent child. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain her parents must feel. What has become of us?" she wrote.

BSP Chief Mayawati called the incident "extremely shameful and tragic". "The UP government should quickly let the rule of law prevail and ensure strictest action in the case," she wrote on Twitter.

Assadudin Owaisi, AIMIM chief, condemning the killing of the childm said: "The fact that they were completely okay with murdering a child merely over money is heartbreaking. They deserve exemplary punishment."

Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi stressed on the "change of mindset" and safety for children. "Just can't get over the 3 year old's murder in Aligarh. How despicable a human the accused must be to have done something as heinous to her. As a society we continue to fail our children-their safety should be our priority, change of mindset towards our girls a necessity," she wrote on Thursday on Twitter.

In another post, she wrote: "Work towards societal mindset change, create a safer environment for our girls, make women an essential part of economic growth, educate & empower."

Actor-turned politician and Congress leader Urmila Matondkar called for justice for the girl and tweeted: "It's a sad and scary state where the lives of innocent children value so little. Justice must be served against such inhuman acts at the earliest."

The UP police has said the murder will be investigated under the National Security Act (NSA), an anti-terror law that enables detention of suspects who pose a threat to national security for a year. A police officer has ruled out rape but said probe is on. Five policemen have been suspended for negligence.

