Man uses voice-changing app to pose as woman college teacher, rapes seven students
Sidhi (MP), May 25: A 30-year-old man has been arrested in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district for allegedly raping at least seven girls after posing as a woman college teacher and calling them in connection with scholarship funds, police said on Saturday.
Most of the survivors belong to tribal communities.
Brajesh Prajapati, the accused, used a voice-changing app to sound like a woman while talking to his potential victims on phone, police said.
While Chief Minister Mohan Yadav ordered probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into the case, the accused's unauthorised house was demolished following the arrest.
Three associates of Prajapati have also been arrested, said Rewa Range Inspector General (IG) Mahendra Singh Sikarwar.
Prajapati called girl students while posing as a woman college teacher from a collage at Tikari, and asked them to meet so that they could get a scholarship, the police official said. `Her son' will take them to her house, the caller would tell the girls.
After the crime, he would snatch away the girl's mobile phone.
As per one of the complainants, after one such conversation, Prajapati himself, wearing a helmet and hand gloves, picked her up on a motorcycle, took her to a deserted place and allegedly raped her.
During the probe, police learnt that the culprit had marks of burns and injuries on his hands, and finally nabbed him.
While Prajapati confessed to raping seven girls, four girls have come forward to lodge complaints, IG Sikarwar said.
He could have raped more girls and probe was on, the official said.
His associates Lavkush Prajapati, Rahul Prajapati and Sandeep Prajapati were also arrested and 16 mobile phones were recovered from them. One of them was a college student and got numbers of girls from a college WhatsApp group, the IG said.
Their exact roles in the crimes were yet to be ascertained.
The first case of rape, kidnapping, assault and robbery was registered on May 16 following an incident of May 13. Two more cases were registered on May 18 and May 23 over crimes that had taken place on May 4 and May 20, respectively. Another FIR was registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act on May 19 over a crime that had taken place on April 15, police officials said.
Following directives from CM Yadav, IG Sikarwar constituted a nine-member SIT headed by Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) of Kusmi, Roshni Singh Thakur which will submit its report in seven days, officials said.
"Those who commit such condemnable acts are enemies of society, strictest action will be taken against the accused. They will not be spared at any cost," the chief minister wrote on X.
Congress leader Kamal Nath demanded a high-level inquiry.
"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?" the former chief minister asked on X, noting that Madhya Pradesh led in the country in terms of crimes against tribals and women.
"Not a day goes by when news of atrocities on tribals does not come to light in Madhya Pradesh," he said, while seeking financial assistance for the survivors in the Sidhi case.
Meanwhile, Prajapati's house at Panwar village in the district was demolished following the arrest. The house had been built on government land without permission, a district official told reporters.
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At least 4 people killed in one of largest Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia
Kyiv, May (AP): At least four people, including three near Moscow, died in one of the largest Ukrainian overnight attacks against Russia since the start of the war, according to Russian local authorities.
A woman was killed after a drone hit her home in Khimki, a city just northwest of Moscow, and two men died in the village of Pogorelki 10 km north of the capital, according to local Gov. Andrei Vorobyev.
In social media updates, Vorobyev said Ukrainian drones had also damaged unspecified “infrastructure” and several high-rises.
In Moscow itself, at least 12 people were wounded in the nighttime strike, mostly near the entrance to the city's oil refinery, mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported. Sobyanin reported the “technology” of the refinery has not been damaged.
Russian defences shot down 81 drones headed for Moscow overnight, state agency Tass reported, citing Sobyanin, marking one of the largest attacks on the Russian capital since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
One man was also killed as a drone struck a lorry in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, according to local authorities.
Russian air defences destroyed 556 drones over Russia overnight, the country's defence ministry said Sunday morning. Shortly after midday local time, it reported that over 1,000 had been shot down or jammed in the previous 24 hours.
Russia's largest airport — Moscow's Sheremetyevo — said drone debris had fallen on its premises without causing damage.
Russia attacked Ukraine with 287 drones overnight on Sunday, 279 of which were shot down or jammed, the Ukrainian air force reported.
According to Ukraine's estate emergency service, the strikes injured 8 people in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region: three in the regional capital of Dnipro, four in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih, and one in the district of Synelkove.
Residential buildings were damaged in all three locations, the service said.
