In a deeply disturbing incident that highlights a growing apathy towards crimes against women, a woman was raped on a roadside in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, while several passersby watched without attempting to intervene. In a shocking display of inaction, one individual even recorded the crime on video and shared it online.
Following the attack, the woman bravely approached the police to file a First Information Report (FIR) against the suspect, leading to his swift arrest. Ujjain’s City Superintendent of Police (CSP), Om Prakash Mishra, stated, “Yesterday (Thursday) around 3:30 pm, a woman came to the police station and reported being raped. A woman officer was immediately called, her statement was taken, and an FIR was registered after informing senior officers.”
The woman identified the suspect as a man named Lokesh in her complaint. Acting promptly, the police assembled a team to locate the accused. “We apprehended him within two hours of filing the FIR,” Mishra added. During questioning, Lokesh confessed to the crime.
The victim underwent a medical examination, and Lokesh was presented in court, where he was remanded to judicial custody. “Additionally, the woman’s statement was recorded in court today (Friday), where she confirmed the rape incident. A video of the crime, which was also received by the police, has been taken as evidence,” Mishra noted.
According to the police, the accused had lured the woman with a promise of marriage, gave her alcohol, and then raped her on September 4.
Political Reactions and Accusations of Double Standards
The incident has ignited a political storm, with the opposition Congress party seizing the opportunity to criticise the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh. State Congress president Jitu Patwari condemned the BJP, highlighting the irony of a woman being raped on a footpath in the Chief Minister’s constituency while the party protests nationwide over the RG Kar Hospital rape-murder case in West Bengal.
However, critics accuse Congress of maintaining a selective stance on crimes against women. Despite calling out the BJP, the Congress has been relatively silent on the RG Kar Hospital incident, especially in light of serious allegations levelled against the TMC-led West Bengal government, headed by Mamata Banerjee, a key ally of the Congress in the INDI alliance. Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader, is yet to visit the victim’s family, even as the family accuses the TMC government of negligence and complicity.
Moreover, the Congress has been conspicuously quiet on several rape cases allegedly involving leaders from the Samajwadi Party (SP), another key ally in the I.N.D.I. Alliance. Recently, DNA evidence confirmed the involvement of Nawab Singh Yadav, a former SP leader, in the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh. Yadav, a former associate of SP leader Dimple Yadav, was arrested on August 12 and charged under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and POCSO Act.
In another incident, SP leader Moid Khan and his servant were accused of gang-raping a minor girl in Ayodhya. The bakery where the crime took place, owned by Moid Khan, was demolished. Moid Khan, who is reportedly close to Samajwadi MP Awadhesh Prasad, had campaigned for him in recent elections.
BJP’s Response to Congress’s Allegations
Reacting to the Congress’s criticism, BJP Madhya Pradesh president V. D. Sharma accused the opposition of politicising the incident. “The Congress is trying to exploit the incident because they have no real issues to challenge the Madhya Pradesh government,” Sharma asserted. He emphasised that the BJP government was the first to introduce a law allowing the death penalty for such crimes and vowed that strict action would be taken against the accused.
