Video Producer: Shohini Bose
Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma
(Trigger Warning: Description of rape, sexual assault. Reader discretion advised.)
The Ujjain Police on Thursday, 28 September, arrested the main accused in connection with the horrific rape case of a minor girl, who was seen going door to door seeking help and was even shooed away by some.
The accused, identified as Bharat Soni, is a resident of Nanakheda area in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain and is an autorickshaw driver by profession, sources told The Quint.
In a purported video that went viral on Wednesday, 27 September, a minor girl was seen seeking help in a distressed state, only to be shooed away by Ujjain residents.
The Ujjain Police had said that the minor rape victim had been thrown by unidentified men on the streets of the city near Dandi Gurukul Ashram.
Accused Tried To Escape From Custody: Police
Soni allegedly tried to escape from police custody while he was being taken for spot-verification by the Ujjain Police.
"The accused was being taken for spot verification when he attempted to escape from the police custody. During the chase he stumbled upon a cemented road and hurt his leg. He has been brought to the district hospital for treatment," Nalakheda police station incharge Ajay Verma said.
The police had earlier taken Soni into custody based on CCTV footage. Police had earlier taken one auto driver into custody in connection to the rape case based on the CCTV footage.
Ujjain Superintendent of Police Sachin Sharma further said that they were questioning a total of five people in connection with the Ujjain minor rape case.
"We got information about the victim on 25th in Ujjain, she was immediately taken to the hospital, FIR was registered in Mahakal police station. A team was set up and we were continuously monitoring on major routes. Based on the CCTV footage, we got information about an auto. When we located the auto, we found blood stains on the backseat of the vehicle."Ujjain SP Sachin Sharma
The incident took place between 3 to 5 am on Monday, 25 September, according to Ujjain Police.
A case has been registered against the main accused under Sections 376 (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code as well as relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012.
Another autorickshaw driver has also been made an accused by the police in the case.
Minor Rape Survivor Recounts Harrowing Details to Police
In her statement to the police, quoted in the FIR and accessed by The Quint, the minor rape survivor 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."
A missing person complaint was filed by the 12-year-old 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.
Police sources told The Quint that the minor's father was battling mental health issues, while her mother left their family 12 years ago.
In the CCTV video that went viral on Wednesday, the minor girl was seen walking several kilometres before reaching Dandi Gurukul Ashram in Ujjain. The ashram administrator, 21-year-old Rahul Sharma, helped her and reached out to the police.
"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," Sharma told The Quint.
Madhya Pradesh, along with Maharashtra, saw the highest number of cases of women and girls disappearing between 2019 and 2021.
The state also reported the highest number of rape incidents in 2021, with more than half of the cases involving minor victims.
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