(Trigger Warning: Descriptions of violence. Reader discretion advised.)
The 12-year-old minor rape survivor in the Ujjain, who went from door to door seeking help, told the Madhya Pradesh police that an unknown man "pressed her mouth, touched her chest, and tore her kurti."
In her statement to the police, quoted in the FIR and accessed by The Quint, she said:
"I was roaming around the temples in Ujjain and eating whatever food I was given. Last night, an unknown person came near me and pressed my mouth. He then strangled me and started pressing my chest. He tore my kurti. He touched me on my genital area and did the wrong thing. I started bleeding. When I screamed, the unknown person pressed my mouth and then ran away from there."
In a purported video that went viral on 27 September, a minor girl was seen going seeking help in a distressed state, only to be shooed away by Ujjain residents. The Ujjain Police had said that the minor was allegedly raped and thrown away on the streets of Ujjain near Dandi Gurukul Ashram by unidentified men.
No arrests have been made in connection with the case yet. An FIR has been filed under relevant sections of Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
A missing person complaint was filed by the 12-year-old minor survivor's grandfather in Satna district, a day before she was allegedly raped in Ujjain on 25 September, police officials told The Quint. The complaint was filed in Jaitwara police station, where the survivor hails from.
Satna, which is closer to the border of Uttar Pradesh, is at least 720 km away from Ujjain – where the survivor was allegedly raped and thrown on the streets. There is no clarity on how she reached Ujjain from Satna yet.
Ujjain Superintendent of Police (SP) Sachin Sharma on Thursday, 28 September, told media:
"Investigation has revealed that the survivor is from Satna district, where a missing person report was filed a day before the incident. Further details and updates on the case will be disclosed as we gather more information."
'Reported Missing After She Didn't Return From School'
Police sources told The Quint that the minor's father was battling mental health issues, while her mother left their family 12 years ago. She is studying in class eight, and grandfather is her sole caregiver, the police added.
Speaking to The Quint, Shivesh Singh Baghel, Additional Superintendent of Police (City), Satna district, said: "On the morning of 25 September a complainant came to Jaitwara police station in Satna and informed that his granddaughter did not return from school as she usually does on 24 September. The family extensively searched in nearby areas, including Jaitwara and Satna railway station, but couldn't locate her and then reported her missing."
"When I came home after grazing the goat, I saw that my granddaughter was not at home. I searched for her in the neighborhood and among my relatives. No trace was found."Survivor's grandfather to The Quint
Satna police filed a complaint under section 363 (punishment for kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and circulated the minor's photo. An award was also announced for anyone providing relevant information.
Satna Police further said that following the incident in Ujjain and comparing the photographs of the missing girl with the survivor in the rape case, it was suspected that the girl in both cases is the same individual. A team escorted the girl's family to the Mahakal police station in Ujjain for identification. The girl and her family are expected to reunite soon.
Ashram Administrator Recounts
In a CCTV video that went viral on 27 September, the young girl was seen walking several kilometres before reaching Dandi Gurukul Ashram in Ujjain. The administrator, 21-year-old Rahul Sharma, helped her and reached out to the police.
Recounting the incident, Sharma had told The Quint: "I was at the gate of my ashram leaving for a meeting at around 9:30 am on Monday, 25 September, when I saw a girl in pain, trying to cover her private parts with whatever she could from an almost torn rag, walking towards the ashram. I couldn't understand what was happening, then I stepped out and hurriedly removed the ang vastra (the top part of a two-part dress worn by priests) that I was wearing on my upper body and gave it to her."
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