BHOPAL: In a spine-chilling case of serial rape in MP’s Sidhi district, a 30-year-old man sexually assaulted at least seven tribal girls by using a voice-changing app to pose as a woman teacher and lure them into his trap. Following CM Mohan Yadav’s orders, a nine-member SIT was constituted on Saturday to probe the crime and submit a report in seven days.
The accused Brajesh Prajapati preyed on girls who were eligible for SC/ST scholarships.He would use the app to mask his voice, pose as “Archana madam“, and ask the victims to meet ‘her’ to solve an issue with their scholarship application, police said. He robbed the cellphones of the girls after raping them to ensure they couldn’t call for help.
So far, cops have recovered 16 phones from his possession, but have complaints from four of the survivors. “One girl went to meet him with a minor, and he raped them both,” Sidhi SP Ravindra Verma told TOI. The six others are in college, aged 19-20 years.
Prajapati is jobless. His rape spree began in April this year, but the survivors were too scared to complain, cops said. On May 16, a college student finally mustered courage to walk into Majhauli PS (600km from Bhopal) to file an FIR.
The survivor alleged that she received a call from one ‘Archana ma’am’ on May 13, who told her that her scholarship money was stuck as her signature was missing from a document. She was asked to meet her at a deserted location. After she arrived there, she got another call from the ‘ma’am’, who said she had sent her son to pick her up. A man arrived on a motorcycle and drove her to a deserted place where he raped her and snatched her phone, the survivor said in her complaint.
Going by the modus operandi, cops realised an app was being used and took the help of cyber experts to zero in on Prajapati. He was arrested the same night, but police didn’t disclose details of the case until Saturday. Prajapati is in police remand.
“So far, four cases have been registered against the accused, and there are five survivors (including the minor). During interrogation, the accused has admitted to raping seven girls so far. Details of the other two are being verified. There could be more victims,” SP Verma told TOI. Police have spoken with five of the survivors. “All of them complained of rape. No incident of gang rape has been reported till now,” the SP added. CM Yadav said, “The incident of wrongdoing with tribal students in Sidhi on the pretext of scholarship has come to our notice. The accused has been arrested. People doing such condemnable work are enemies of society. Strict action will be taken against the accused.”
The accused Brajesh Prajapati preyed on girls who were eligible for SC/ST scholarships.He would use the app to mask his voice, pose as “Archana madam“, and ask the victims to meet ‘her’ to solve an issue with their scholarship application, police said. He robbed the cellphones of the girls after raping them to ensure they couldn’t call for help.
So far, cops have recovered 16 phones from his possession, but have complaints from four of the survivors. “One girl went to meet him with a minor, and he raped them both,” Sidhi SP Ravindra Verma told TOI. The six others are in college, aged 19-20 years.
Prajapati is jobless. His rape spree began in April this year, but the survivors were too scared to complain, cops said. On May 16, a college student finally mustered courage to walk into Majhauli PS (600km from Bhopal) to file an FIR.
The survivor alleged that she received a call from one ‘Archana ma’am’ on May 13, who told her that her scholarship money was stuck as her signature was missing from a document. She was asked to meet her at a deserted location. After she arrived there, she got another call from the ‘ma’am’, who said she had sent her son to pick her up. A man arrived on a motorcycle and drove her to a deserted place where he raped her and snatched her phone, the survivor said in her complaint.
Going by the modus operandi, cops realised an app was being used and took the help of cyber experts to zero in on Prajapati. He was arrested the same night, but police didn’t disclose details of the case until Saturday. Prajapati is in police remand.
“So far, four cases have been registered against the accused, and there are five survivors (including the minor). During interrogation, the accused has admitted to raping seven girls so far. Details of the other two are being verified. There could be more victims,” SP Verma told TOI. Police have spoken with five of the survivors. “All of them complained of rape. No incident of gang rape has been reported till now,” the SP added. CM Yadav said, “The incident of wrongdoing with tribal students in Sidhi on the pretext of scholarship has come to our notice. The accused has been arrested. People doing such condemnable work are enemies of society. Strict action will be taken against the accused.”