In the wake of a shocking case involving the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain, the father of the accused is demanding capital punishment for his son, while the local bar association has made an appeal to lawyers not to represent him in court. The incident has also ignited political controversy, with the opposition Congress party targeting the BJP government and questioning the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Bharat Soni, an auto-rickshaw driver, was arrested in connection with the case on Thursday.
His father, speaking to reporters in Ujjain, expressed his condemnation of the heinous act. "It is a shameful act. Neither have I gone to the hospital to meet him, nor will I go to the police station or courts. My son has committed a crime, therefore he should be hanged," he stated, as quoted by news agency PTI.
Meanwhile, Ashok Yadav, President of the Ujjain Bar Council, conveyed that the incident had severely tarnished the reputation of the temple city. He urged their members not to take up the case of the accused.
Bharat Soni's arrest came three days after a young girl, approximately 12 years old, was discovered injured, wandering the city streets. Subsequent medical examination confirmed that she had been subjected to rape.
During Soni's arrest, he sustained injuries when he allegedly attempted to flee while being taken to the crime scene for investigation, according to the police. The victim is currently receiving treatment at the Government Maharaja Tukojirao Holkar Women's Hospital in Indore, where she underwent a major surgery on Wednesday, as per PTI's report.
A counselor who interacted with the victim determined that she hails from the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. Police had previously registered a complaint about a girl of the same age going missing in Satna, but confirmation is pending regarding whether the rape survivor is indeed the same girl.
The Congress party has vehemently criticised the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh, particularly in the context of the upcoming assembly elections. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate asserted that the law-and-order situation in the state has significantly deteriorated under Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's leadership.
Shrinate remarked, "In Madhya Pradesh, being a Dalit, tribal, or woman has become a sin. Madhya Pradesh tops the list in cases of minor rapes. There have been 58,000 reported rape cases and 68,000 kidnapping cases during Chouhan's 18-year rule. However, the country's Prime Minister, Home Minister, and all BJP leaders remain silent", as quoted by PTI.
Furthermore, Shrinate questioned the silence of Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani, the National Commission for Women (NCW), and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) concerning the incident.
Randeep Singh Surjewala, Congress's General Secretary in charge of Madhya Pradesh, claimed that the assault on this "Dalit girl" was even more brutal than the attack on the Nirbhaya case victim. Surjewala also visited the Holkar Women's Hospital in Indore to assess the victim's condition.