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3 Bihar men arrested under Pocso after horrifying video of assault on Jamui teens
Police said the teenagers were intercepted while returning from Mawara Hill, with an SIT formed to trace the remaining suspects.
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Three people were arrested after a video footage showing a group of men allegedly sexually assaulting a Class 10 schoolgirl and harassing her male friend went viral in Bihar’s Jamui district, police said on Monday, even as the incident sparked massive outrage on social media and a major political uproar in the state.
The assault, according to the police, took place on the evening of September 19 in Jamui, around 150km from Patna, when the two teenagers were returning from a local scenic spot, Mawara Hill, on a two-wheeler. The accused intercepted them on the pretext of ‘moral policing’ before some of them started making vulgar comments, beating the boy, and sexually assaulting the girl as the two pleaded for help. In one video clip, one suspect who had covered his face forcibly grabbed, groped and dragged the girl.
Also read: Delhi tailor allegedly sexually assaults 11-yr-old, gags and threatens her with scissors
Viral video leads to arrests
Police said one of the suspects appeared to have recorded the incident on his mobile phone, which later emerged on social media, triggered widespread outrage and led to the arrest of three accused.
HT could not independently verify the veracity of the videos.
“Although the incident is two days old, no complaint was made before us by the boy or the girl till Sunday. Today, when the video went viral, we traced the victims with the help of the registration number of a vehicle visible in the clip,” Jamui superintendent of police (SP) Vishwajeet Dayal told reporters.
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Police form SIT to trace accused
A special investigation team (SIT), headed by sub-divisional police officer Deepti Monali, has been constituted to conduct raids and arrest all the culprits, the SP said.
A first information report (FIR) has been lodged under sections 8 (sexual assault) and 12 (sexual harassment) of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and steps have been initiated for the “takedown of the video”, Dayal said. “The accused have not been named by the victims in the FIR lodged at Jamui police station, but we have identified around seven perpetrators with the help of the clip. Three persons have been arrested, and raids are being conducted to nab the others.”
The victims told the police that they studied at a local coaching institute and were returning from an outing on Saturday evening on their two-wheeler when they were intercepted by the group.
Jamui district magistrate Naveen Kumar, who told police to act on the viral video clips, said most of the accused have been identified, adding that two of the suspects in the case were minors.
Additional director general (law and order) K S Anupam said: “The incident took place just 3 km from the Jamui town, and it happened between 6.15 pm and 6.30 pm. Action would be taken against police personnel who were on patrol duty at that time.”
Also read: ‘Blurry video’: Police seeks R Veeramani sexual assault case closure; Pocso court denies
Women’s panel takes cognisance
Bihar state women’s commission chairperson Apsara Sahu said the panel had taken cognisance of the incident and will reach out to the teenager girl.
Meanwhile, the incident triggered a massive political uproar, with several top Opposition leaders targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Bihar over law and order.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi described the video of the incident as “deeply disturbing”. “Who gave these men the right to behave like this? This is not ‘culture’. It is patriarchy; the belief that any man can police a girl’s body, her movement, her choices,” Gandhi posted on X, asking the Bihar government to answer “why a girl is not safe on a public road”.
Also read: ‘Patriarchy, not culture’: Rahul Gandhi demands POCSO action over mob harassment in Bihar's Jamui
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) working president Tejashwi Yadav, who is also the leader of Opposition in the state assembly, also condemned the incident.
“There is anarchy in Bihar. No female student or woman is safe anywhere, anytime in Bihar now. Goons and criminals are now brazenly entering schools, colleges and homes in broad daylight to commit crimes,” Yadav said in a post in Hindi on X, sharing the video of the incident.
He also held Prime Minister Narendra Modi “solely responsible” for the “anarchy in Bihar”.
Govt rejects law-and-order criticism
Rejecting the allegations, Union minister and senior Janata Dal (United) leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh asserted that law and order in Bihar is totally secure. “If any individual incident takes place, steps are taken, and police ensure appropriate action on it,” Singh, who was in Kolkata for a review meeting of his ministry, told reporters. He added that law and order in a state cannot be judged based on an individual incident.
BJP spokesperson Kuntal Krishna said no culprit who plays with the dignity of daughters will be spared, and the police will set “an example” so no one can dare to commit such act again.
Deep Dive
HT cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video clips.
Jamui superintendent of police (SP) Vishwajeet Dayal said the police hadn’t received a formal complaint from the young couple about the incident, but started inquiries after coming across the video clip, in which the boy identifies himself as a Jamui resident.
The victims later told the police that they studied at a local coaching institute and were returning from an outing on Saturday evening on their two-wheeler when they were intercepted by the group.
Jamui district magistrate Naveen Kumar, who told the police to act on the viral video clips, said most of the accused seen in the video have also been identified, he said, adding that two of the suspects in the case were minors.
Police said an FIR has been registered under sections 8 (sexual assault) and 12 (sexual harassment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and sections 74 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 76 (Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) and 3 /5 (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Jamui’s Sadar police station.
A special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted under the sub divisional police officer Dipti Monali to arrest the remaining suspects and conduct a thorough probe into the case.
Action against patrol team
Bihar's additional director general (law and order) K S Anupam said three of the seven persons involved in the incident have been arrested. Two others have been identified, and efforts are on to identify the other two.
She said they were examining where the local police personnel on patrol duty were. "The incident took place just 3 km from the Jamui town, and it happened between 6.15 pm and 6.30 pm. Action would be taken against police personnel who were on patrol duty at that time," she said.
Opposition slams govt
Bihar State Women's Commission chairperson Apsara Sahu said the panel had also taken cognisance of the case and will reach out to the teen girl.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) condemned the incident, saying it reflected how women were increasingly feeling unsafe in Bihar. "The way the girl was molested and the shameful incident of the couple getting harassed reflect that law and order has taken a nosedive in the state… The government should be accountable, and the police needs to answer why such incidents are taking place," said RJD senior leader Shakti Singh Yadav.
JD (U) spokesperson Nawal Sharma said the police would take strict action against those who take the law into their own hands. "There is rule of law in Bihar, and under no circumstances can Taliban rule or 'mob justice' be allowed on the streets here,” he said.
BJP spokesperson Kuntal Krishna said no culprit who plays with the dignity of daughters will be spared, and the police will set an example so no one can commit such a daring act again.
