Madhya Pradesh man used artificial intelligence to clone voices to pose as a teacher and raped seven girls

A 30-year-old man was arrested in Sidhi district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh for allegedly raping at least seven girls. He posed as a college professor and lured them with the promise of scholarships, news agency PTI reported on Saturday, citing officials.

The accused, Brajesh Prajapati, used a voice-changing application to pretend to be a woman during phone conversations with his potential victims, the report said. Most of the victims are from tribal communities.

Following the arrest, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the matter. Prajapati’s unauthorised residence was also demolished.

“Three accomplices of Prajapati were also arrested,” Mahendra Singh Sikarwar, Inspector General of Rewa Range, told PTI.

A police officer described the modus operandi as follows: Prajapati contacted female students by posing as a college teacher at a local college in Tikari. He lured them under the pretext of helping them apply for scholarships and claimed that “her son” would accompany them to her residence.

After the attack, he confiscated the victims’ mobile phones. According to the PTI report, Prajapati, wearing protective gear, took them to remote areas on his motorcycle and allegedly committed the rape there.

During the investigation, the authorities found burn marks and injuries on Prajapati’s hands, which ultimately led to his arrest. According to a PTI report, while he admitted to assaulting seven girls, four of them have filed complaints.

The report also mentioned the involvement of Prajapati’s associates Lavkush Prajapati, Rahul Prajapati and Sandeep Prajapati. According to the report, the police recovered 16 mobile phones from them. One of them, a college student, is said to have obtained the contact details of girls from a WhatsApp group of the college.

According to PTI, the first case was registered on May 16, followed by two more cases on May 18 and 23, and an FIR under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act on May 19. These incidents date back to April and May, and the SIT is expected to submit its report within seven days.

Chief Minister Yadav wrote in an X-post: “Anyone who commits such reprehensible acts is an enemy of society. Strict action will be taken against the accused. They will not be spared at any cost.”

Congress leader Kamal Nath demanded a high-level inquiry and sought help for the survivors. “Not a day goes by without news of atrocities against tribals coming to light in Madhya Pradesh,” he said in an X-post.

At the same time, Prajapati’s unauthorised house in Panwar village was razed after his arrest as it was built on government land without permission, PTI reported, citing a district official.