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Police in India arrested a man who allegedly filmed and shared a video of the rape of a woman on a street in a case that has sparked a public outcry.
The incident occurred on 4 September at a busy intersection in the city of Ujjain in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. A woman who worked as a ragpicker was allegedly raped by a man the police identified only by his first name, Lokesh.
Lokesh, who was arrested within hours of a complaint being filed by the survivor, had allegedly forced her to consume alcohol before he raped her, police said.
Ujjain’s superintendent of police, Pradeep Sharma, said the individual who allegedly filmed the rape has been identified as Mohammad Salim, an auto rickshaw driver in the city.
Mr Sharma said the investigators are still questioning him to ascertain his motive.
It comes in the wake of widespread protests against last month’s rape and murder of a resident doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Mr Sharma said that the police deployed district officials, cyber, and social media teams to identify the man accused of filming the rape.
Several people witnessed the incident, but instead of intervening, they filmed videos that were later shared on social media.
“Lokesh later fled from the spot. After the woman filed a complaint when the effect of alcohol wore off, Lokesh was arrested,” said Kotwali area’s city superintendent of police Om Prakash Mishra, PTI reported.
The incident has stirred a political row, with the opposition party Congress questioning the law and order situation in the state and the safety of women in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Madhya Pradesh. Chief minister Mohan Yadav has promised strict action in the case, accusing the opposition of politicising the crime.
“No one will be spared. Be it Ujjain or [anywhere in] the state, we are committed to good governance under the leadership of the prime minister [Narendra Modi],” said Mr Yadav of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Ujjain is the hometown of Mr Yadav, who also holds the portfolio of home ministry. He said: “Those who are doing politics should look into their own affairs.”
He added: “It will be understandable if they take care of the states ruled by them. They do not open their mouths on the incident in Kolkata [rape-murder of a trainee doctor].”
“The incident of a woman being assaulted in broad daylight on the sidewalk in Ujjain is extremely horrifying,” Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra posted on social media on Friday.
“Today, the entire nation is stunned, wondering where our society is headed. According to reports, instead of rescuing the woman, passersby were making videos.”
The incident has sparked widespread outrage on social media, with many users expressing horror and disgust at the incident.
Journalist Shuja ul Haq wrote: “Woman raped on the roadside in broad daylight at a busy intersection in Ujjain, MP. The crime seen by plenty of passersby. Some even film it. Shocking that nobody intervened.”
Journalist Rohini Singh added: “A man rapes a woman on a busy footpath in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain. People passing by shot videos instead of stopping the heinous crime.
“The same sick people will be outraging on Facebook demanding death for rape. Meanwhile, women in India continue to be brutalised.”
“A woman is raped in broad daylight on a road in Ujjain. Business as usual. Videos are made. Sold & circulated,” wrote journalist Swati Chaturvedi on Twitter/X. “No one man or woman intervenes even uses the phone they film with to call the cops. We are a sick country & the rape capital of the world.”
