Man rapes woman on footpath in India, bystanders film crime instead of helping

• Crime committed in one of Ujjain's busiest intersections.
• Victim visited police station herself to report sexual assaut.
• Accused presented in court leading to judicial custody.
  

In yet another horrific incident in India, a video recently went viral that showed a man raping a woman on a footpath in broad daylight in India's Madhya Pradesh state.

The incident, that unfolded in the state's Ujjain district, occurred last week during the day on a footpath in Koyla Phatak, one of the busiest intersections in the city.

The passersby, who saw the crime being committed on the streetside, chose to film the incident instead of intervening or helping the victim.

City Superintendent of Police (CSP) Ujjain, Om Prakash Mishra, said that at around 3:30pm on Wednesday, a woman came to the police station and reported that she had been raped, The Indian Express reported.

"Immediately a woman officer was called and her story was heard and an FIR (first information report) was registered after informing the senior officers," Mishra said.

The police said that the victim, in her complaint, identified the accused as a man named Lokesh. 

"A team was immediately formed and sent in search of Lokesh, and yesterday itself, within two hours of the FIR being registered, we arrested Lokesh. The accused was brought to the police station and questioned, during which Lokesh admitted to committing the crime," Mishra said.

The victim was medically examined after the incident, while Lokesh was presented before the court which sent him to judicial custody.

"Apart from this, the statement of the woman was also recorded before the court today. In which the woman has confirmed the incident of rape before the court… A video of this incident was also made which also came to police, we have taken it as evidence," Mishra said.

However, according to India Today, an auto rickshaw driver, who filmed the incident, was also arrested.

Police have alleged that the accused Lokesh had "promised to marry her, made her drink liquor, and then raped her on Wednesday".

This heartbreaking incident in India comes weeks after the country saw widespread outrage and protests over the rape and murder of a 31-year old trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata where she worked.

Many people drew parallels of the incident to the notorious gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New Delhi in 2012.

This latest incident of sexual abuse in India has unleashed a war of words between the Congress and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The opposition party raised alarms over the "deteriorating law and order" in the state pointing out that the crime occurred in Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's constituency.