Madhya Pradesh: A distressing incident has rattled the city of Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, as a 12-year-old girl was discovered in a critical state after being sexually assaulted on its streets. Ujjain SP Sachin Sharma told the media that the Madhya Pradesh Police have detained five individuals, including an auto-rickshaw driver Bharat Soni, in connection with the crime. “The interrogation of the suspects is underway. The girl hails from Satna, “he added further.
The victim’s parents have also been identified. The CCTV footage revealed that the rape survivor teen girl walked for 8 kilometres in search of help.
Madya Pradesh Police told the media that the investigation involved extraordinary efforts to crack the case, and involved interrogating hundreds of people and scanning footage from over 700 CCTV cameras. Eventually, the authorities were able to establish links to the primary suspect, Bharat Soni, an auto driver alleged to have picked up the victim from the Ujjain railway station, raped her, and left her half-naked and bleeding.
According to a police inspector, around 30 to 35 individuals were involved in a cyber investigation that lasted for three to four days without rest. During a visit to the location of the crime, the accused attempted to flee, but was pursued and apprehended by police officers.
The accused Bharat Soni’s father, Raju Soni, has publicly called for severe punishment for his son, stressing that individuals guilty of such heinous acts should face the gravest consequences. He said, “Those who commit such crimes do not deserve to live. Whether it’s my child or anyone else’s, anyone who commits such a crime should be hanged or shot.”
The young rape survivor underwent a surgical procedure performed by a team of specialist doctors and is currently in critical but stable condition. After the public outrage, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that a special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to probe the heinous crime.
The Prayagraj Theory: Initial confusion surrounded the girl’s identity and origin, SP Sachin Sharmat earlier told NDTV that the girl could not tell her name and address but her accent suggested she is from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, about 850 km away. However, subsequent information has clarified that she is a Class VIII student from a district within Madhya Pradesh, residing with her grandfather and elder brother. She had gone missing on September 23 (Sunday) and her family had registered a missing complaint, the police officer said.