The Ujjain Police have arrested a youth identified as Mohammed Salim, the main accused in a case involving the filming and circulation of a video depicting the broad daylight rape of a woman on a busy road in the city a couple of days ago.

Police officials said Mohammad Salim, an auto driver from Prakash Nagar in the nearby Nagda town, has been apprehended.

According to Ujjain SP Pradeep Sharma, the police have recovered the mobile phone used by Mohammad Salim to film and circulate the obscene incident on social media.

The SP said Mohammad Salim has been booked under Sections 72, 77, and 294 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), the IT Act, and the Indecent Representation of Women Act.

The shameful and shocking incident occurred on 5 September but came to light on 6 September after the video went viral.

The video showed a man raping a woman in broad daylight on the side of a busy road after forcing her to consume alcohol in Ujjain city, the hometown of MP CM and Home Minister Dr Mohan Yadav.

Another disturbing aspect of the incident was that many people witnessed the crime, which occurred at one of the busiest intersections in the city, but no one attempted to stop the culprit or inform the police immediately. Instead, several bystanders filmed the incident and shared the videos on social media.

It was only after the videos went viral that the police swung into action. They identified the victim, aged around 45 years, and brought her to the police station.

The woman told the police that she was raped by a man who approached her near an alcohol shop at Agar Naka, near the Koyla Fatak area. He allegedly lured her with a promise of marriage and then forced her to consume liquor. However, he sexually assaulted her on the roadside and then fled the scene after threatening her.

According to Ujjain Kotwali area CSP Om Prakash Mishra, the man who committed the rape was identified as Lokesh on the basis of the woman’s complaint. The police arrested Lokesh and booked him under relevant sections for the crime.

The official said the police were also trying to identify those who filmed the incident and posted them on social media.

MP Congress Chief Jitu Patwari launched a scathing attack on CM Dr Yadav and the BJP government over the incident.

Patwari alleged that while the BJP is protesting across the country over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College, MP CM Mohan Yadav, former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, PM Modi, and other BJP leaders remain silent on the broad daylight rape of a woman on a busy street in Ujjain even as similar crimes keep on happening regularly across Madhya Pradesh.

He questioned if such crimes could occur in the Chief Minister’s hometown, what would be the condition elsewhere in the state?

Former Congress CM of MP, Kamal Nath, also charged that rapes are being reported from every district of the state. He asserted that the law and order system in MP has completely failed.

In a post on X, the Madhya Pradesh Congress stated, ‘Ujjain, the sacred city, is once again shamed. Those in power should either die of shame or resign.’