“She was injured and bleeding”, says Ujjain Priest who helped the minor girl allegedly raped, seen knocking on doors, half naked

The viral video of a minor girl, half-naked, bleeding, and allegedly raped was seen knocking from door to door asking for help that shook the conscience of the country at large and sparked massive social media outrage on Wednesday. The CCTV footage from a locality in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain shows the helpless minor seeking help from a man standing at his doorstep, who in turn turned her down and shooed her away. The girl finally received help from a priest of an ashram, who gave her clothes to wear and informed the police.

Rahul Sharma, the priest who is associated with an ashram, on Bhatnagar Road was on his way to the ashram when he saw the bleeding naked girl knocking from door to door, seeking help. “I gave her my kurta to cover herself. She was injured and bleeding, her eyes were swollen and she could hardly speak. I dialed 100 but could not reach the cops over the helpline, so I contacted the Mahakal police station and informed them about the situation. Police reached the ashram in about 20 minutes and took the girl to a hospital”, said the priest.

The priest recalls that the girl was heavily injured and visibly shaken by the alleged incident of alleged assault inflicted upon her. The minor was disoriented and even failed to reveal her name or the contact details of her family members. The girl could only trust the priest who saved her, and was getting startled by anyone else trying to talk to her, so, she stayed in close proximity to him and hid behind him. "Whenever someone tried to talk to her or went close to her, she got scared and tried to hide behind me.” said the priest.

A special Investigating Team has been formed by the police to probe into this case, and the case has been rape has been lodged, invoking the sections of the stringent Protection on Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. However, no arrests have been made so far.

The police found out that the victim hails from another district of Madhya Pradesh, roughly 700 km away from Ujjain. She stays with her grandfather and had gone missing on Sunday night. The family members had filed a missing complaint.

Narottam Mishra, the state home minister has informed that the girl is now in a stable condition; however, she has sustained some serious injuries.

Taking a jibe at the BJP Government of the state over the deplorable condition of women in Madhya Pradesh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “The horrific crime committed against a 12-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh is a shock to the heart of Mother India. Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of crimes against women and rape against minor girls. The culprits are those criminals who committed these crimes. Besides, there is also the BJP government of the state, which is incapable of protecting the daughters. There is no justice, no law and order, and no rights – today, the entire country is ashamed of the condition of the daughters of Madhya Pradesh. But the Chief Minister of the state and the Prime Minister of the country have no shame at all - they have suppressed the screams of their daughters amidst election speeches, hollow promises, and false slogans.”

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, Madhya Pradesh had recorded the highest number of rapes in 2021, most of which were crimes committed against minors.