Four people were arrested in connection with a video showing a teenaged girl and man being harassed in broad daylight in Bihar — an incident that surfaced just days after footage of a girl and boy being assaulted triggered nationwide outrage.
The earlier incident was reported in Jamui district and the second, in Samastipur.
In the Samastipur case, the action on Wednesday night came after a video of a group of men surrounding the teen and the man surfaced on Wednesday evening. 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.
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Samastipur Superintendent of Police (SP) Arvind Pratap Singh said those arrested were identified as Vikash Kumar Sharma, Rahul Kumar Paswan, Rambabu Sahni and Awadhesh Paswan.
Police said they have taken suo motu cognisance of the matter since the survivor is yet to be identified and traced. A First Information Report has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Information Technology Act.
{{/usCountry}}Police said they have taken suo motu cognisance of the matter since the survivor is yet to be identified and traced. A First Information Report has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Information Technology Act.
{{/usCountry}}People aware of the details said the incident took place near Jagat Singh Bandh Bypass road under Karpuri Gram Police Station area. They claimed the teenaged girl and her male friend were clicking photos when the accused arrived.
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The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the law and order in the state.
“I am asking the Prime Minister, what should I call this state by? You decide, Prime Minister. Whatever you say, we will accept it. You go to elections and narrate 20 to 25-year-old fairy tales because someone handed you a written script. Say something at least for once. And stop treating Bihar as merely a voting state,” RJD MP Manoj Jha said.
Samastipur MP from Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) Shambhavi Choudhary posted on X: “The incident of misconduct with one of our sisters in Karpoorigram of Samastipur is extremely condemnable and unfortunate.”
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She said she learnt about the incident on Wednesday night. “Since then, we have been in constant contact with the Superintendent of Police and the administration, and have spoken about taking swift action in the matter. Based on the video, four accused have been arrested,” she said.
Earlier, five people were arrested after a video showing a group of men allegedly sexually assaulting a Class 10 schoolgirl and harassing her male friend went viral in Bihar’s Jamui district.
The assault – that sparked massive outrage on social media and a major political row 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.
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Police said 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, a suspect who had covered his face is seen forcibly grabbing, groping and dragging the girl.
Police also said one of the accused appeared to have recorded the incident on his mobile phone, which later emerged on social media.
Jamui SP Biswajeet Dayal said police took suo motu cognisance as neither of the teens initially filed a complaint. They were later traced with the vehicle registration number visible in the video.