Bystanders watch and film woman get raped on footpath in India

A video showing a woman rag picker being raped in Ujjain city of India, has surfaced online. A bystander filmed and posted the video online, clearly depicting that no one helped the victim.

The incident happened on the afternoon of September 4 in the Koyla Phatak area, one of the busiest intersections in the city, as per India Today.

The victim was allegedly lured by the suspect under the pretext of marriage. He got her intoxicated, took her to a roadside shelter and raped her.

Some people who were passing by shot videos of the incident instead of stopping the crime, reported Indian media.

The accused has been identified as Lokesh, who fled the scene after threatening the victim, but the video helped the police to locate her and later arrest him.

Indian media reported that the local police has also arrested an auto-rickshaw driver who filmed the incident and he has been identified as Mohammad Salim. The police also found the video in his phone. However, the information is being collected about all those who shared the video and further circulated it.

The incident sparked a political row in the country as the opposition blamed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the “deteriorating law and order” in the holy state, pointing out that the crime took place in Chief Minister Mohan Yadav’s constituency.

However, the local BJP leadership argued that the Congress party was politicising the incident.

Journalist and human rights activist Rana Ayuub shared the news with the caption, “Your daily dose of trigger in this country.”

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Indians are already protesting the rape and murder of Doctor Moumita Debanath, 31, a postgraduate trainee at a local Kolkata hospital, who was raped and murdered on the night of August 8. Her bruised body was found inside the seminar hall of the hospital.