Woman raped on busy Madhya Pradesh road, bystanders film attack and share online

A woman was raped on a busy footpath in Madhya Pradesh this week with videos of the incident going viral on social media. The attack took place in broad daylight with pedestrians choosing to film the sexual assault instead of intervening. The incident has since taken a political tint with the Congress and BJP trading barbs over the case.

The victim — a scrap collector in Ujjain — was lured under the pretext of marriage and plied with alcohol until she was intoxicated. The accused (identified as Lokesh) had then taken her to a roadside shelter before raping her. The rape was filmed by eyewitnesses before being uploaded online even as the accused fled the scene after threatening the woman.

An FIR was filed on Wednesday afternoon after the victim reportedly the attack against her at the Kotwali police station. The accused was nabbed within hours and now remains lodged in jail.

“The accused was brought to the police station and questioned, during which Lokesh admitted to committing the crime. The woman was medically examined and after that, Lokesh was presented before the court on Thursday, September 5. According to the order of the court, the person concerned was sent to Bherugarh jail,” Kotwali CSP Om Prakash Mishra told ANI.

The Ujjain police have also identified three to four people suspected of filming the rape and shared it online. Mishra told PTI that efforts were underway to nab the individuals — currently at different locations.

The incident comes amidst continued outrage over the rape and murder of a Kolkata doctor last month.

“BJP is protesting across the country against RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and murder incident...A woman was raped in Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's constituency. Why is MP CM Mohan Yadav, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, PM Modi silent?... There is 'Jungle Raaj' in Madhya Pradesh. No one is safe in Madhya Pradesh...BJP leaders should also look at these kinds of incidents that are happening in MP,” opined state Congress President Jitu Patwari.

“Congress party has no issues to corner the Madhya Pradesh government and that's why they try to give such a tone to the incident...The BJP government is the first government to introduce a law to give the death penalty to the perpetrators of these kinds of incidents...The accused has been arrested and the state government will ensure that strict action is taken against them,” countered BJP MP VD Sharma.

(With inputs from agencies)