Girl raped at VIP circuit house in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa: Police

The main accused, Sitaram Das Maharaj alias Samarth Tripathi, is absconding while his accomplice has been arrested

Published on: Mar 30, 2022, 09:54:34 IST

By Shruti Tomar

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Bhopal: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped at a VIP circuit house in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district, said additional police superintendent Shiv Kumar Verma.

Verma said the main accused, Sitaram Das Maharaj alias Samarth Tripathi, is absconding while his accomplice and notorious criminal Vinod Pandey, who booked the room at the circuit house and brought the girl there, has been arrested. Verma said Tripathi was scheduled to speak on spirituality from April 1 in Satna.

“On Monday, Pandey brought the girl from Satna as she was upset due to some personal problem and sought help from him. Pandey took him to the room, where Tripathi and two others consumed alcohol and forced the girl to consume it. Later, all the people including Pandey came out of the room and locked it from outside. Tripathi raped her and later called Pandey to open the gate. Pandey tried to convince the girl not to speak... [about the assault],” said Verma.

The girl’s family later registered a case. Police have booked the accused under the Indian Penal Code’s Sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 504 (criminal intimidation), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 328 (hurt by poison), and 376 D (gang rape) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Police said an inquiry has been ordered to probe who booked the room in the name of a notorious criminal.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More