Drugged, raped, blackmailed: PhD scholar dies by suicide in Madhya Pradesh

Police said the woman also left behind a suicide note in which she accused Yogesh Rawat and his two sisters of mentally harassing her and sought strict action against them.

In Short

• Police said the scholar knew the accused through one of her friends
• Investigators alleged he took her to a Gwalior hotel after intoxicating her
• Obscene videos were allegedly recorded and later used to threaten her

A 25-year-old PhD scholar from Madhya Pradesh’s Datia died by suicide after accusing a man of rape and blackmail with obscene videos, police said. The accused, identified as Yogesh Rawat, also 25, has been arrested.

The woman was pursuing her PhD while staying in Gwalior. According to police, she became friends with Yogesh Rawat, the brother of one of her friends. Investigators said Rawat called her to a hotel in Gwalior, where he made her consume an intoxicating substance and raped her after she lost consciousness.

Police said Rawat also recorded obscene videos of the woman during the assault. He later threatened to circulate the videos on social media and called her to a hotel again, where he raped her a second time.

The incidents took place on March 13 and March 15, police said.

Disturbed by the harassment, the woman approached Padav police station in Gwalior on March 15 and lodged an FIR against Rawat. Soon after, she returned to her home in Datia, where she died by suicide by hanging herself.

Police said the woman left behind a suicide note in which she accused Yogesh Rawat and his two sisters of mentally harassing her and sought strict action against them.

After the complaint was registered, police launched a search operation and arrested Rawat from Ashok Nagar.

Sub-Inspector Santosh Bhadauria said the complainant had informed police that she had come to Phool Bagh with a friend, who later took her to a hotel and “did wrong things” with her there. Further investigation in the matter is underway.

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