In yet another illustration of shocking pusillanimity and apathy towards crimes against women, a woman was raped on the roadside in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain with a bevvy of passersby watching over without even trying to rescue her. In fact, one man shot the video and posted it online.
The woman later filed an FIR against the culprit, leading to his arrest.
Om Prakash Mishra, Ujjain’s City Superintendent of Police (CSP), stated, “Yesterday (Thursday) around 3:30 pm, a woman came to the police station and reported being raped. A woman officer was immediately called, her statement was taken, and an FIR was registered after informing senior officers.”
The police reported that the woman identified a man named Lokesh as the suspect in her complaint. “A team was immediately assembled and sent to locate Lokesh. We apprehended him within two hours of filing the FIR,” said Mishra. Lokesh was taken to the police station and, during questioning, confessed to the crime.
The woman underwent a medical examination, and Lokesh was brought before the court, which remanded him to judicial custody.
Mishra stated, “Additionally, the woman’s statement was recorded in court today (Friday), where she confirmed the rape incident. A video of the crime, which was also received by the police, has been taken as evidence.”
The police allege that the accused “promised to marry the victim, gave her alcohol, and then raped her on Wednesday.”
Congress tries to politicise the Ujjain rape incident even as it observes reticence on the RG Kar Hospital incident and rape cases against SP leaders
The incident, nevertheless, has awakened the opposition Congress party from its deep slumber. State Congress president Jitu Patwari criticised the BJP, pointing out that while the party was protesting nationwide over the RG Kar rape-murder case, a woman was raped on a footpath in the Chief Minister’s constituency in Madhya Pradesh.
However, ironically, the Congress party itself is accused of being relatively soft on the RG Kar Hospital incident compared to other incidents reported elsewhere in the country, especially in the BJP-ruled state. Rahul Gandhi is yet to visit the RG Kar Hospital victim’s family even as they level serious allegations against the TMC-led West Bengal government, headed by Mamata Banerjee, one of the key allies of the INDI alliance.
Besides, the Congress party has also maintained radio silence on minor rape cases allegedly involving leaders of the Samajwadi Party, another key alliance partner in the INDI bloc. Earlier this week, the DNA sample of Nawab Singh Yadav, a former Samajwadi Party leader arrested for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl, matched with the sample taken from the survivor in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh.
Nawab Singh Yadav, who was previously an associate of Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav, was arrested on August 12 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and POCSO Act. He was subsequently placed in 14-day judicial custody for the alleged rape of the minor.
Just hours before his arrest, the survivor contacted the police, reporting that she had been stripped and an attempt to assault her had been made.
The incident took place in the Kotwali Nagar area of Kannauj. Chaudhary Chandan Singh Mahavidyalaya of Samajwadi Party leader and former block chief Nawab Singh Yadav is in Adangapur village.
Before this, Samajwadi Party leader Moid Khan and his servant Raju Khan were accused of gangraping a minor girl from the Nishad community in Ayodhya. The bakery shop where this incident took place, Moid Khan’s establishment, has since been demolished using a bulldozer. Moid Khan is close to Samajwadi MP Awadhesh Prasad from Ayodhya. Many pictures of the two together have also surfaced. Moid Khan had also campaigned for Awadhesh Prasad in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
BJP Madhya Pradesh president V D Sharma responded by accusing the Congress of politicising the incident.
“The Congress is trying to exploit the incident because they have no real issues to challenge the Madhya Pradesh government,” he said. “The BJP government was the first to introduce a law that allows the death penalty for such crimes. The accused has been arrested, and the state government will ensure that strict action is taken against them.”
