Ujjain horror: Two autorickshaw drivers arrested for minor's rape

Speaking to reporters, Verma said one of the accused, Bharat Soni tried to escape when he was being taken to the spot for recreating the crime scene Thursday.

Two autorickshaw drivers were arrested on Thursday in connection with the rape of a minor girl, who was found wandering the streets of Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain city, in an injured condition right after the assault, earlier this week, police said.

The girl was ultimately rescued by a local priest.

While 24-year-old Bharat Soni, who was detained for probe along with fourothers on Wednesday, was arrested for allegedly raping the minor , Rakesh Malviya (40) was held for trying to destroy evidence, according to Mahakal police station in-charge Ajay Verma.

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The developments came a day after state home minister Narottam Mishra announced a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter, as viral visuals showed the minor, partially clothed and in an injured condition, going door to door for help on the streets of Ujjain but in vain. She was ultimately rescued by a local priest.

Speaking to reporters, Verma said Soni tried to escape when he was being taken to the spot for recreating the crime scene on Thursday. He was injured after he jumped from a boundary wall while escaping and was subsequently nabbed near Jeevan Khedi locality, the officer said.

Verma said two policemen were injured during the chase. Both the cops and the accused are undergoing treatment at a local hospital, he added.

The officer added that Soni, a resident of Nanakheda slum area, was arrested undersections of Indian Penal Code and provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The accused also has several criminal cases of rash driving and voluntarily causing hurt pending against him.

Malviya was arrested under sections pertaining to destruction of evidence and not informing police about the incident, Verma said. The second accused had even offered the minor a ride after the rape, he added.

According to police, the minor is a resident of Satna district and arrived in Ujjain on Sunday. Police earlier said that Soni was detained after CCTV footage showed him interacting with the survivor near Ujjainrailway station on Sunday, the day she was allegedly raped,

“After seeing the viral videos, we identified the girl against whom a missing complaint was filed on Monday in Jaitwara police station, and informed Ujjain police. The minor’s grandfather confirmed her identity. A student of Class 8, she had gone to school on Sunday morning and when she did not return by evening, her grandfather filed a complaint,” Satna additional superintendent of police Shivesh Singh Baghel said.

Police said the victim appears to have a mentally illness.

In her statement, the girl said she ran away from home, police said.

“She said she fell unconscious after she was raped on Sunday evening. When she gained consciousness, she tried to seek help but in vain,” an investigating officer said on condition of anonymity.

“The girl was unable to share anything except a few words like she came for a better life and her mother had left them,” SP Sharma. “We are trying to see if she was abducted or if she arrived in Ujjain on her own. We are also trying to see why she went to school on a Sunday,” he said.