A fresh case of alleged molestation has been reported in Bihar’s Samastipur, days after a Class 10 girl was allegedly harassed and molested by a group of youths in Jamui. In the latest incident, four men were arrested on Thursday after a 56-second video that showed a girl being harassed and molested in public in Samastipur surfaced on social media.
According to TOI, the incident reportedly took place on Wednesday on Dam Bypass Road in Jagatsinghpur village, under the Karpurigram police station. Police said the four accused seen in the video were arrested from their respective residences.
After Jamui case, what happened in Samastipur?
The footage shows the girl surrounded by a group of youths. One man is seen repeatedly holding her arm as she attempts to move away, while another allegedly tries to hit her. The girl can be heard asking them to release her and saying that she would call her brother. One of the youths allegedly responds, “Okay, call him.”
According to police, the girl was travelling with a boy and had stopped on the bypass road to take photographs when some local youths allegedly approached them and began abusing and harassing her. The incident was recorded on a mobile phone, and the video subsequently circulated on social media.
Police have not yet confirmed the exact date on which the video was recorded.
Jamui girl harassed after coaching class
The Samastipur case comes days after a similar incident in Jamui, where a Class X girl was allegedly harassed and molested on the road by a group of youths. The accused also allegedly recorded the incident, with two video clips later going viral on Monday.
The incident took place on Saturday when the girl had gone to Marwa Pahad with a male classmate after attending coaching classes. While the two were returning on a scooter in the evening, a group of youths allegedly stopped and surrounded them, forced them off the vehicle and began abusing and questioning them.
The videos showed the girl being allegedly touched inappropriately, while her male classmate was also allegedly manhandled. The two students reportedly tried to escape but were chased and assaulted. Their ordeal allegedly continued for around 15-20 minutes before they managed to flee.
Jamui police traced the two students and recorded their statements before registering an FIR on the basis of the girl's written complaint. Police said seven to eight people had been identified from the video footage and three accused, all minors, had been detained. Raids were underway to apprehend the others.
The case was registered under Sections 74, 76 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 8 and 12 of the POCSO Act. A special SIT headed by SDPO Deepti Monali was constituted to investigate the case.
Jamui SP Vishwajit Dayal said police had identified those visible in the videos and were examining the evidence to establish the role of each person.
Police makes arrest in Jamui case
In the Jamui case, the police have also taken action against social media accounts circulating the video, with an FIR reportedly registered against around 120 profiles for sharing footage that could reveal the identity of the minor.
The officials have arrested Kundan Kumar, Faiyaz and Ramashish Kumar. Jamui Police has appealed to people not to share any offensive or revealing videos/posts of minor victims on social media.
The police teams are conducting raids to apprehend the remaining suspects, while the accused injured in the police encounter is undergoing treatment at Jamui Sadar Hospital.
