PATNA: Three suspects have been taken into custody after videos purportedly showing two minor students being harassed in Bihar’s Jamui district went viral on social media on Monday. The incident took place on September 19.
Police took suo motu cognisance of the videos, identified the victims and registered an FIR.
Jamui District Magistrate Naveen said the incident took place on the evening of September 19 under Jamui Sadar police station limits. He said police had not initially received any complaint and later launched an investigation based on material available on social media.
The accused have been identified and action is being taken against them, the District Magistrate said. “Police officials have launched a hunt to arrest the perpetrators of crime,” he told the media.
Jamui SP Bishwajit Dayal said the video appeared to show two minors being subjected to inappropriate behaviour. Their statements were subsequently recorded. The two minors had gone to the area after attending coaching classes to have their photographs taken when the incident allegedly occurred, he said.
According to preliminary information, the two Class 10 students and residents of Jamui town had gone to Madwa hillock on a motorbike after attending coaching classes on September 19.
While returning, some youths allegedly stopped them on the way and harassed them for a considerable period. The incident was reportedly filmed, and the victims were allegedly threatened that the video would be uploaded on social media.
The two videos purportedly linked to the incident prompted police to take cognisance of the matter. The videos allegedly show a group of men surrounding the girl and subjecting her to harassment and inappropriate behaviour.
The State Women’s Commission has also taken cognisance of the matter and sought a detailed report from the SP concerned.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi reacted to the incident and said, “The video from Jamui was very disturbing”.
He said a Class 10 boy and girl were allegedly forcibly stopped on the road, harassed and humiliated, and that the girl was subjected to harassment.
“Who gave these people the right to behave in such a manner? This is not ‘culture’; this is patriarchy. It is the mindset that any man has control over a girl’s body, her movement and her choices. When control is treated as culture and ‘blind followers’ normalise such thinking, the mob begins to believe that it is the law. Bihar government must answer why a girl is not safe on the state’s roads at 7 pm,” he asked.