Bihar sees third harassment case in a week, woman assaulted at tourist spot

The video shows several youths mostly behaving indecently with the woman and assaulting her with a slipper.

A video of a group of men behaving indecently toward a young woman and assaulting her male friend at a popular tourist site in Bihar has surfaced on social media — the third such incident in a week, sparking outrage in the state.

The incident took place at Mandar Hill in Bihar's Banka. (Screengrab)

Police said a First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against six youths in connection with the incident at Mandar Hill in Banka. Police said they have identified three men – Mohammad Abdullah, Nitish Kumar Rai and Dev Kumar – and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to nab them.

The video shows several youths mostly behaving indecently with the woman and assaulting her with a slipper. One of them is also seen threatening her.

Bhagalpur range Inspector General (IG) Vivek Kumar said the incident took place three months ago.

Prime accused Abdullah allegedly intimidated the woman's male friend and forced him to transfer ₹1,500 rupees into his bank account. Only after confirming that the funds had been credited did the accused allow the woman and her friend to leave, he said.

“The police have filed a case on their own under sections 74 (use of criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty), 75 (sexual harassment), 76 (use of criminal force against a woman with the intent to disrobe her) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 66E and 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000,” the IG said, adding that raids are on to nab the three identified accused.

The FIR states that six unidentified youths were allegedly involved in "indecent behaviour and obscene acts" with the young woman. It also states that the incident was recorded on video and later circulated on social media.

Banka sub-divisional police officer Indrajit Baitha said police identified the three accused through videos and the online banking transaction link.

Banka's incident comes amid widespread public outrage following two recent incidents in Bihar.

On Wednesday, four people were arrested in connection with a video showing a teenaged girl and man being harassed in broad daylight in Samastipur. In the video, the men are seen sexually assaulting the girl and grabbing her by her arms, even as she struggles to free herself. They are also seen hurling indecent remarks and passing gestures at her.

Police said they took suo motu cognisance of the matter since the survivor is yet to be identified and traced.

Days before the Samastipur incident, five people were arrested in connection with a video of a group of men allegedly sexually assaulting a Class 10 schoolgirl and harassing her male friend in Jamui district.

The assault – that triggered the massive outrage in the state and across the country – 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 Opposition has repeatedly hit out at the government over the law and order in the state.

(With agency inputs)