Video Producer: Shohini Bose
Video Editor: Mohd Irshad Alam
(Trigger Warning: Descriptions of rape and sexual assault. Reader discretion advised.)
"Khoon se lathpath the uss bachchi ke pair, mujhse dekha nahi gaya. (Her legs were blood-soaked, I couldn't bear seeing her)," said 21-year-old Rahul Sharma, the administrator of Dandi Gurukul Ashram – a residential school for Vedic learning – in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain.
In a purported video that surfaced online on Wednesday, 27 September, a minor rape survivor was seen walking door to door seeking help in the Badnagar road area of Ujjain. The video showed that the minor was semi-naked and bleeding as she sought help, only to be shooed away by the residents.
Sharma was on his way out of the ashram, located at Murlipura area of the district for a meeting at around 9:30 am on Monday, 25 September, when he saw the 12-year-old rape survivor struggling to cover her body while staggering towards the ashram.
"I was at the gate of my ashram leaving for a meeting at around 9:30 am 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. For a second, I couldn't understand, 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 said.
According to Ujjain Police, the minor was allegedly raped and thrown near Dandi Ashram on Badnagar Road. The visuals of this incident were captured on CCTV camera.
"A case of rape against an unidentified perpetrator has been registered, invoking the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The medical examination has confirmed rape. We have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and are closely following this. We urge the public to come forward with any information," Superintendent of Police (Ujjain) Sachin Sharma told the media.
'She Was in Shock, Pain, and Unable To Talk'
- 01/02
(Photo: The Quint)
- 02/02
(Photo: The Quint)
Sharma, who manages the Dandi Ashram, operational since 1990, told The Quint that the girl was in shock and pain, and was unable to talk.
"I tried everything, I even asked her about her parents contact, gave her a diary and a pen to write down these details but she was very frightened. She said nothing, she blabbered something and wanted to leave," he added.
While some other members of the ashram brought her snacks and tea, Sharma said that he frantically tried to call the police.
However, he alleged that his call was cut twice by the Dial 100 number, and that he could only connect with the local police station after about half an hour.
"She was constantly looking over her shoulder, I understood what might have happened and that she needed a hospital. My call was cut twice by the police's dual 100 mechanism and then I contacted the local Mahakal police station who came at around 10:30 am," Sharma recounted.
We have still not been able to identify the location of the crime or the length of time that the girl spent on the roads of Ujjain seeking help, Deepika Shinde, the police official who talked to the girl, told The Quint
"We are investigating as to where the crime had happened along with other details, including how long she was on the road and where she belongs to. We will get to these details very soon," Shinde added.
However, as per local sources, the girl had walked for kilometres while being partially naked and was shooed away by several residents before arriving at the ashram where Sharma ensured her safety and informed the police.
Kamal Nath Hits Out at BJP, Asks CM Chouhan To Sanction Rs 1 Crore as Relief
Congress leader Kamal Nath, conveyed his distress over the incident and urged CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan to approve a relief fund of Rs 1 crore for the victim, along with demanding severe punishment for the perpetrators.
The former Madhya Pradesh CM took to X (formerly Twitter) and said, "It is heart-wrenching to see a case of extremely cruel abuse of a small girl in Ujjain. The kind of rape that happened to a 12-year-old daughter and the way she ran around in many areas of the city in a semi-nude state and then fell unconscious on the road, puts humanity to shame.”
The state Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that an "SIT has been formed to investigate the Ujjain case and a suspect has been detained." He emphasised that strict action will be taken.
Madhya Pradesh has a gory record of crimes against women. Notably Madhya Pradesh, along with Maharashtra, recorded 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.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)