Bihar Police have registered FIRs against 120 social media account operators for allegedly revealing the identity of a minor girl and circulating her video on social media, which purportedly shows two minors being confronted and harassed by a group of people in Jamui.
The police further appealed to the public to not share or repost videos of minor victims, revealing their identity, warning that it is a punishable offence under the POCSO Act, the IT Act, and the Juvenile Justice and Penal Code.
In a post on X, the official handle of Bihar Police said, “Appeal to the Public. Disseminating videos of minor victims, insulting their dignity, and revealing their identity is a punishable offense under the POCSO Act, the IT Act, and the Juvenile Justice and Penal Code.”
Deep Dive
What legal actions are being taken against those who revealed the identity of the minor victim in Jamui?
Why is it illegal to share videos of minor victims on social media in India?
How did the Bihar Police identify the perpetrators in the Jamui harassment case?
“It is known that under Section 23 of the POCSO Act, revealing the identity of a minor is prohibited. Violation of this carries a provision for imprisonment ranging from 6 months to 1 year, a fine, or both,” a police officer told reporters on Tuesday.
{{/usCountry}}“It is known that under Section 23 of the POCSO Act, revealing the identity of a minor is prohibited. Violation of this carries a provision for imprisonment ranging from 6 months to 1 year, a fine, or both,” a police officer told reporters on Tuesday.
{{/usCountry}}“Therefore, do not share the face, name, or any such information of any minor victim on social media that could make their identity public,” he added.
Why the appeal?
This comes after a video from Bihar’s Jamui went viral on social media. The video purportedly shows a few men harassing and groping a class 10th girl, who was on her way back from tuition with her male friend.
The two had left their coaching classes in Jamui town on a motorbike and visited a nearby spot (near Madwa hillock/Jamui-Lakhisarai road) to take photographs. They were then intercepted by a group of local youths 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.
The group filmed the entire ordeal on a mobile phone and threatened to upload the video online if they reported it.
The incident took place on September 19, while the disturbing footage of the harassment went viral across social media platforms, sparking intense nationwide outrage.
Three suspects arrested
A Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by female Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Deepti Monali, was formed to track the perpetrators. The police successfully identified around seven perpetrators using video analysis and arrested three suspects, who were identified as minors.
The Bihar Police took suo motu cognizance of the viral video and traced the victims using the registration number of the vehicle visible in the clip. Jamui Police officially registered an First Information Report (FIR) under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Pocso Act.
"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 SP Bishwajeet Dayal told reporters.
The FIR has been lodged under the POCSO Act and relevant sections of the BNS, and steps have been initiated for the "takedown of the video", the SP said.
Rahul Gandhi demands POCSO action
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called the incident "deeply disturbing" and demanded that the persons identified in the video be prosecuted under POCSO act. He further questioned the BJP government in the state, asking "why a girl is not safe on a public road".
In a post on X, Gandhi said, "This is not culture, it is patriarchy," Gandhi said, alleging that "andhbhakts" were responsible for such attitudes being "normalised".