Police nab man who filmed and circulated video of Ujjain rape: Report

The police arrested a 42-year-old auto rickshaw driver on Saturday who allegedly shot and circulated the video of a man raping a woman in a busy intersection in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain.

On Saturday the police arrested a man named Md Salim for allegedly filming and circulating on social media the rape of a woman in a busy intersection in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain, according to a report by The Times of India.

A man named Lokesh raped a scrap collector in full public view after forcing her to consume liquor in Agar Naka area of Ujjain. Passersby who witnessed the incident allegedly shot videos without coming to the aid of the woman.

The ToI report further states that the 42-year-old auto rickshaw driver has a criminal record and they are checking whether he had any other role to play in the incident. Moreover the investigators are now trying to identify the people who circulated the video.

The article further reports that when the video became viral, Salim realised that the police were looking for him and tried to escape by travelling between Ratlam and Mandsaur, 90 km apart and 100-150 km from Ujjain. He later came back to Nagda, where he was arrested by the police and brought back to Ujjain.

"A case has been registered against Md Salim under BNS sections 72 (disclosing identity of a victim of certain offences), 77 (watching or capturing image of a woman engaged in a private act in circumstances where she would usually have the expectation of not being observed) and 294 (sale/circulation of obscene video/books), along with section 67 of IT Act (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) and Section 4 of Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act," ToI quoted Ujjain SP Pradeep Sharma as saying.

"Salim shared the video on WhatsApp groups, and those who helped circulate it will also be booked under the IT Act. At this stage, Salim is being charged with making and distributing obscene content. Investigation is on to determine whether he was directly involved in the crime," he added, as per the report.

The video which Salim made helped the police nab the accused Lokesh. The police is investigating why he created and circulated the video, and whether he had any accomplices.