MP Shocker: Lured with Scholarship Using Voice Changing App, Seven College Going Tribal Girls Raped

Bhopal: In a shocking incident of sexual violence, three imposters allegedly raped over seven college going tribal girls by tricking them with a voice changing app in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district.

The police said the accused allegedly lured the girls, using a magic voice app. Pretending to be a teacher, they used to talk to the victims in women's voices and call them isolated places on the pretext of collecting documents for scholarship.

To avoid any doubt, they would have been told in advance that a boy would come on a bike at a designated place to pick them up and take them to the teacher, said the police, adding that all the victims belong to the tribal community. The accused used to target students of those colleges, which offer a scholarship.

The incident came to light after a victim complained to the police, which traced the location of one of the accused and apprehended him.

During interrogation, he revealed involvement of two others who were also taken into custody. The accused have so far, according to investigators, have confessed to raping seven college students. They said FIRs have been registered based on complaints of four of the victims.

The cops suspect that the number of girls can be higher. They said further investigations are on to ensure the accused do not escape clutches of law.

The police said the main accused, Brajesh Prajapati, and his associates, Rahul Prajapati and Sandeep Prajapati, are labourers. They are said to have revealed during the questioning that they came to know about the voice changing app through YouTube.

After installing the app on their cell phones, said the police, they allegedly began targeting girl students. Brajesh and his friends got phone numbers of the victims from a WhatsApp group of students of a government college in Sidhi district.

Identifying himself as Ranjana, one of them used to call the girls several times to take them into confidence. The accused told the police that they had been doing it for the past three months.

Sidhi Superintendent of Police Dr Ravindra Verma told The Mooknayak that separate cases of rape have been registered based on the complaints of four girls. "The accused are being subjected to intense interrogation as we suspect more victims who might be reluctant to come forward."

Inspector General of Police (Rewa Range) Mahendra Singh Sikarwar also said the same during a media briefing. "The accused have confessed to raping seven girl students, but this number could be more. It is being verified. The police headquarters has been informed about it," he told journalists.

Congress Launches Offensive Against BJP

The Congress, the principal Opposition in the state, has accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of not being serious towards the tribals. It demanded a high-level investigation.

"The BJP government has never been serious about ensuring safety and security of tribals — who are victims of several kinds of crimes across Madhya Pradesh. The incident at hand is unfortunate, and we demand a high-level inquiry into the incident. But this is not an isolated incident of crime against the tribal community. Earlier, a BJP leader urinated on the face of a tribal man in the same district," Ramu Tekam, state president of the Tribal Congress, told The Mooknayak.

MP Tops in Atrocities Against Tribals

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 2,979 cases of atrocities against tribals were reported in 2022. It was 13 percent more than last year.

For the last three years, the state has remained on top in tribal atrocities cases. With 2,521 and 742 cases, Rajasthan and Maharashtra come at second and third places respectively.