AMN / WEB DESK
In another barbaric incident a woman was raped on a busy road in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. Instead of intervening or helping the victim, passersby filmed the sexual assault on their phones and posted the video on social media, where it quickly went viral.
The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon in the Koyla Phatak area, one of the busiest intersections in the city. The accused, identified as Lokesh, was later arrested.
It was only after the videos went viral that the police swung into action. They identified the victim, aged around 45 years, and brought her to the police station.
The woman told the police that she was raped by a man who approached her near an alcohol shop at Agar Naka, near the Koyla Fatak area. He allegedly lured her with a promise of marriage and then forced her to consume liquor. However, he sexually assaulted her on the roadside and then fled the scene after threatening her.
According to Ujjain Kotwali area CSP Om Prakash Mishra, the man who committed the rape was identified as Lokesh on the basis of the woman’s complaint. The police arrested Lokesh and booked him under relevant sections for the crime.
The official said the police were also trying to identify those who filmed the incident and posted them on social media.
An eyewitness filmed the incident and shared the video online, while the accused fled the scene after threatening the woman.
The viral video helped police locate the survivor, who was brought to the station, where a case was registered based on her statement. Police reviewed the video to identify the accused, leading to Lokesh’s arrest.
The incident ignited a political firestorm, with the opposition Congress blaming the ruling BJP pr the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
MP Congress Chief Jitu Patwari launched a scathing attack on CM Dr Yadav and the BJP government over the incident.
Patwari alleged that while the BJP is protesting across the country over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College, MP CM Mohan Yadav, former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, PM Modi, and other BJP leaders remain silent on the broad daylight rape of a woman on a busy street in Ujjain even as similar crimes keep on happening regularly across Madhya Pradesh.
He questioned if such crimes could occur in the Chief Minister’s hometown, what would be the condition elsewhere in the state?
Former Congress CM of MP, Kamal Nath, also charged that rapes are being reported from every district of the state. He asserted that the law and order system in MP has completely failed.
In a post on X, the Madhya Pradesh Congress stated, ‘Ujjain, the sacred city, is once again shamed. Those in power should either die of shame or resign.’