In a shocking series of incidents, at least 7 tribal girls were raped between January and May this year by a man who used a ‘voice changing’ app to pose as a female teacher and lure the unsuspecting victims over the phone. The incidents occurred in the Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh.
As per the reports, the modus operandi of the impersonator was to call the girls, many of whom were minors, in the guise of a teacher. The impersonator then would advise them to come to a secluded location for a meeting to discuss their scholarships. When the girls used to arrive at the spot, the man would sexually assault them.
The crime came to light when one of the victims mustered the courage and explained the incident to the police who then filed a case. As per the investigation, the person uses the same tactics in all 7 cases.
Meanwhile, Sidhi police have registered cases under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and POCSO Act (The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act). The culprit has been arrested, however, the police are still investigating if more girls were targeted by the accused.
SP Sidhi, Ravindra Verma told Times of India, “So far 4 cases have been registered under several sections against the accused. One girl went to meet him with a minor and the accused raped both of them. During interrogation the accused admitted to raping 7 girls, the details of the other two survivors are being verified. The number of victims could be more. So far, all survivors have complained of rape no incident of gang rape has been reported by any survivor till now. We have arrested his two accomplices too. The probe is still ongoing”.
SP further stated that all the survivors are from scheduled caste communities. The state government offers educational scholarships to SC and ST students. By pretending to be a female teacher who oversees their scholarships, the accused called them and committed the crime.
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