Seven girls, most of them tribals, were allegedly raped in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi district by a man who used a voice-changing app, pretended to be a woman professor and lured them with scholarship offers to a secluded farm.
The Madhya Pradesh Police have arrested Brajesh Prajapati, 30, a labourer, and three of his accomplices in the case, while a nine-member special investigation team (SIT), formed following an order from Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, is probing the matter.
Police said four FIRs have been registered involving five victims, of whom four were raped. One of the raped girls is a minor, Sidhi’s Superintendent of Police, Ravindra Verma, told The Hindu.
FIRs have been lodged under sections of the IPC, including 376 (2) (N), 354, 506, 342, 366, and 294 at Majhauli police station in Sidhi. Section 3/4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 has been invoked in the case relating to the minor girl, he said.
Apart from the four tribal victims, the accused has admitted to the rape of three other girls, Majhauli police station in-charge Deepak Baghel, who is part of the SIT, said.
DSP Roshni Singh Thakur, who is heading the SIT, said while Mr. Brajesh was the mastermind, Sandeep Prajapati, 23, Rahul Prajapati, 23, and Luvkush Prajapati, 24, helped him. They also snatched phones and other valuables from the girls and sold them. Ms. Thakur said 16 phones and several SIM cards have been seized from the men.
Modus operandi
Mr. Verma said Mr. Brajesh targeted the first girl after he got her contact from Mr. Luvkush, who had graduated two years ago and was part of students’ WhatsApp groups. Mr. Brajesh snatched the victim’s phone and took contact details of more girls.
He used an app, about which he had learned on YouTube, to change his voice during a call and introduced himself as ‘Ranjana madam’. The SP said Mr. Brajesh would target girls who had turned 18 and tell them that they have been selected for a government scholarship.
“He used to randomly call numbers. Hearing a woman’s voice, some girls would believe what he said. He would tell them that need to come and sign documents to get the money. He would then pick up the girls, introducing himself as the professor’s son,” said Mr. Verma.
The accused, who house has now been demolished, would take the girls to a hut in a secluded farm and rape them. Mr. Verma said the accused would cover his face with a cloth or a helmet while meeting and raping the girls.
“When we asked the first victim about his identification, she said that apart from a helmet, he wore gloves even in the extreme heat. We started enquiring about people with injuries, burn marks or scars on their hands. When we found out about him and detained him for questioning, we were able to establish his connection with the cases. He had serious burn injuries on his hands from a blast at a steel factory where he had worked earlier,” said Mr. Verma.
Mr. Verma said the police have written to the State Cyber Cell and have sought support from cyber experts to include the app maker in the investigation.
The Cyber Cell has issued an advisory alerting the public on criminals using voice-changing apps. It said a voice changed using an app will sound “melodious and computerised”.
Congress slams BJP
The Congress took on the State’s BJP government with former Chief Minister Kamal Nath demanding a high-level probe into the matter, formation of a special task force for the protection of tribal girls and financial assistance for the victims.
Terming the news “extremely disturbing”, Mr. Nath wrote on X, “Can’t girls from the tribal community in Madhya Pradesh even study in college without fear? What is the meaning of the slogan - Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao?”
