Bhopal:

The man who filmed the rape of a woman in a footpath in Ujjain in broad daylight, and later circulated the video on social media, has been arrested, the police said on Saturday.

The arrested individual has been identified as Mohammad Salim, an auto rickshaw driver.

The police also recovered the mobile phone that was used to record the obscene video which he later shared on social media.

Ujjain SP Pradeep Sharma told IANS that the process of questioning was still underway as the police were trying to understand the motive behind the filming the video, and whether it was a part of any ‘conspiracy’.

A separate case has been registered against the auto driver under sections 72, 77, 294 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), IT Act and Indecent Representation of Women Act, Sharma said.

The woman was in an intoxicated state when she was raped by an accused individual with whom she had earlier consumed alcohol. The incident happened on September 5.

The matter, however, came to the fore after a disturbing video went viral on social media a day later.

Subsequently, the police swung into action and the main accused was arrested.

The victim had met the accused near a liquor shop, and they consumed alcohol together. Police said that the accused overpowered and raped the woman when she was under the influence of alcohol.

That incident, meanwhile, has stirred a political row as it has happened in Ujjain — the home district of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.

The opposition Congress has questioned the law and order situation in the state, and the safety of women in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.

“The incident of a woman being assaulted in broad daylight on the sidewalk in Ujjain is extremely horrifying. Today, the entire nation is stunned, wondering where our society is headed. According to reports, instead of rescuing the woman, passersby were making videos,” Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra posted on social media on Friday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bhopal:

The house of the man accused of raping a teenage girl in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain will be demolished tomorrow, as it was allegedly built illegally.

Videos of a 15-year-old girl, semi-naked and bleeding, going door-to-door for help, sparked outrage across the country last week. 

The accused, Bharat Soni, an auto-rickshaw driver, was arrested in the case on Thursday. Bharat is currently in jail awaiting trial. His family has been living in the house on government land for years, the Ujjain Municipal Corporation said.

Municipal Commissioner Roshan Singh said that the land belongs to the government and therefore no notice is needed for its demolition. The municipal body will take action tomorrow in collaboration with the Madhya Pradesh police. Bharat was caught after a long investigation that involved reviewing footage from nearly 700 CCTV cameras.

“30-35 people were involved in the investigation. No one slept for three or four days,” Ajay Verma, a senior police officer, told NDTV.

‘Shockwaves’

On September 26, videos went viral on social media showing a minor girl, haggard, bleeding, and begging for help. A CCTV camera on Badnagar Road, about 15 km from Ujjain, captured the girl, draped in rags, going door-to-door, seeking assistance. The chilling footage, that sent shockwaves across the country, showed people shooing the girl away, as she approached them one after the other. 

READ |In Ujjain Rape Case, Those Who Didn’t Help Teen May Face Charges: Police

The minor girl, exhausted and traumatised with her body barely covered by a tattered cloth, aimlessly wandered the streets. Word of her agony reached an ashram not far from her location. A priest there, sensing that she had been sexually assaulted, draped her in a towel and rushed her to the nearby hospital. The medical examination confirmed her fears: she had been raped.

The girl’s injuries were severe, so she was rushed to Indore for specialised medical care. Police officers volunteered to donate blood when she needed it.

The accused, Bharat, was arrested three days later. The accused attempted to flee while reenacting the crime scene to collect evidence, including torn clothing but was swiftly caught. 

“We reached the spot to recover the clothes worn by the girl. Sensing an opportunity, Bharat Soni tried to escape. Police personnel chased and caught him. During this, he fell on a cemented road, injuring his arms and legs,” the police said.

‘Should Be Hanged’

Bharat’s father has called for the death penalty for his son, while the local bar association has urged its members to refuse to represent him in court.

“It is a shameful act. Neither have I gone to hospital to meet him, no will I go to the police station or courts. My son has committed a crime, therefore he should be hanged,” his father said.

Repercussions

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is gearing up for assembly elections in the state scheduled in November this year, vowed to prosecute the accused to the fullest extent of the law.

“The victim is the daughter of Madhya Pradesh. We will take care of her in every way. She is my daughter, as well as the state’s daughter and we will ensure that the accused gets stringent punishment,” he declared.

READ | “She Could’ve Been My Child”: Ujjain Rape Accused’s Father Seeks Death Penalty

The horrific incident has provided additional fodder to opposition parties to question the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led state government which is under pressure for its dismal record on violence against women.

According to National Crime Records Bureau data, Madhya Pradesh, with 6,462 cases, reported the most number of rape incidents in the country in 2021. Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have reported the highest number of cases of disappearance of women and girls between 2019 and 2021. Of all the reported rape cases, 50 per cent were crimes against minors, NCRB data states. 

Bhopal:

An autorickshaw driver who was detained by the police after blood stains were found in his vehicle in the horrific Ujjain rape case has said he helped the 15-year-old girl by giving her clothes.

The autorickshaw driver Rakesh Malviya told the police his only mistake was he did not take the girl to hospital, but left her on the road.

The police yesterday told NDTV those who did not help the girl – who had been raped and left half-naked and bleeding, and went door-to-door begging for help – may be charged under child sex abuse laws. They may face action under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act for not reporting the crime.

Mr Malviya spent four night in police custody after he was detained over suspicion that he could be the suspect. The police have now said he should have reported the matter immediately or taken the girl to hospital.

The autorickshaw driver said he gave the girl a khaki shirt that drivers wear. He said he regrets not having taken her to hospital.

“I gave a khaki shirt to her. She said she wanted to go home. I regret it a lot. I was also confused. I found myself in this situation for the first time, didn’t know who to tell,” Mr Malviya said.

The indifference of some residents of Ujjain whose doors the girl knocked for help has been criticised widely. For two hours, no one in the places she passed by – over 500 houses, dhabas and a toll booth – did not help her, until a temple priest helped her and called the police.

A man standing outside a house was seen on CCTV in what appeared like he was talking rudely to the girl using aggressive gestures. The man’s brother, however, said it was all a misunderstanding.

“My brother had just woken up and was groggy. As soon as he opened the gate, he saw the girl suddenly coming towards the gate. He then went in to call our sister-in-law. By then the girl left and we could not help her. We feel very sorry. The girl should get justice,” said Tarun Das Swami, the brother of the man seen on CCTV.

Another Ujjain resident, who does not live in the part of the city where the girl got no help, criticised the resident for not helping her. “People have ignored the girl. Our Ujjain has become infamous. It is the city of Mahakal. If this has happened here, then what can we say?” Ujjain resident Renu Bansal said.

The main accused, Bharat Soni, is in jail, while the girl is recovering in hospital.

The Madhya Pradesh police had said it took an extraordinary effort to crack the case, which involved interrogating hundreds of people, and scanning footage from over 700 CCTV cameras before they found links to the main accused.

Ujjain:

The father of the man arrested for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl in Ujjain on Friday demanded capital punishment for his son, while the local bar association appealed that no lawyer should defend him in the court.

The opposition Congress, meanwhile, continued to target the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh over the incident and questioned the “silence” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Bharat Soni, an auto rickshaw driver, was arrested in the case on Thursday.

“It is a shameful act. Neither have I gone to hospital to meet him, no will I go to the police station or courts. My son has committed a crime, therefore he should be hanged,” his father told reporters here.

Ujjain Bar Council president Ashok Yadav said the incident had damaged the reputation of the temple city.

“We are appealing to our members not to take up the case of the accused,” he said.

Bharat Soni was arrested three days after a girl, aged about 12, was found walking on the city streets in injured condition.

Medical examination established that she had been raped.

Soni sustained injury when he allegedly tried to escape while being taken to the crime spot for investigation, police had said on Thursday. The girl is admitted to the Government Maharaja Tukojirao Holkar Women’s Hospital in Indore where she underwent a major surgery on Wednesday.

A counsellor interacted with her and found that she belongs to the Satna district of MP. But she could not tell her name or address properly.

Police had said that a complaint about a girl of the same age going missing had been registered in Satna, but it was to be confirmed if the rape survivor was the same girl.

The Congress slammed the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh where assembly elections are due by the year-end.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate alleged that the law-and-order situation in the state had considerably deteriorated under Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

“In Madhya Pradesh, being a Dalit, tribal and woman has become a sin. Madhya Pradesh is number one in rapes of minors. Fifty-eight thousand rape cases and 68,000 kidnapping cases have been reported in 18 years of his (Chouhan’s) rule. But the country’s prime minister, home minister and all the BJP leaders are just sitting silent,” Shrinate told reporters in Delhi.

She also questioned the “silence” of Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, the National Commission for Women (NCW) and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) over the incident.

Randeep Singh Surjewala, the Congress general secretary in charge of Madhya Pradesh, claimed that the attack on this “Dalit girl” was more brutal than that on the Nirbhaya case victim.

Surjewala also visited the Holkar Women’s Hospital in Indore.

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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh):

A Madhya Pradesh police official who was involved in the investigation into the rape case of a minor girl in Ujjain has come forward to take responsibility of the girl’s medical treatment, education and marriage.

“I have said that I will take care of the girl’s treatment, education and her marriage. Many other people have also come forward for this initiative. I am quite hopeful that all the responsibilities will be fulfilled soon. After she is discharged from hospital, I will also admit her to another hospital for further treatment,” the investigating officer and Mahakal police station in-charge Ajay Verma told ANI.

“I always try to give back to society as it made me,” he said.

The shocking incident was reported within the jurisdiction of the Mahakal police station on September 25 after which a case was registered on medical grounds and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed for further investigation.

The police launched a probe and collected all available technical evidence based on which an auto driver was taken into custody. The autorickshaw driver identified as Rakesh Malviya has been charged with suppressing evidence. 

Ujjain Superintendent of Police (SP) Sachin Sharma said, “During Malviya’s questioning, some crucial facts came to light. Notably, a bloodstain was found in the backseat of the auto rickshaw. The auto driver confessed that he was with the girl at the time of the incident. Even after this, we continued our investigation, and we have managed to determine that the girl is from Satna.”

Later on Thursday, the police arrested the main accused Bharat Soni, a resident of Ujjain who is also an auto driver and registered a case against him under IPC section 376 and the POCSO Act.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)