Patna: The recent incident of molestation and assault on a class 10 girl student and her male friend in Bihar's Jamui district took a curious turn when an employee of Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) was booked late on Friday for sharing a photo of the minor victim and her family on CM Samrat Choudhary’s official X handle.
An FIR was registered at Sachivalya police station in Patna against Sagar Prasad, a stenographer at CMO, on a complaint by an assistant sub-inspector of police, who alleged that the photograph uploaded on CM’s official social media handle compromised the privacy and dignity of the minor and could lead to disclosure of her identity.
The complaint said that stenographer had uploaded the photograph and sought action against others who may have circulated it. The case invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the POCSO Act and the Information Technology (IT) Act, police said.
"The case was registered after the police received information that a photograph of the victim's family had been uploaded on X," the Patna SSP's social media cell said.
The photograph, showing Choudhary meeting the girl and three family members, was deleted within minutes of being posted on Thursday.
The post said the chief minister had assured the victim and her family of speedy justice and that the accused would face the "strictest punishment" within a month through a speedy trial.
The case was registered against an employee of the CMO after RJD MP Misa Bharti reached Sachivalaya police station to lodge a complaint against chief minister Samrat Choudhary for violating the provisions of law. Interestingly, Choudhary is also the state home minister.
Meanwhile, RJD MP Misa Bharti said that she had sought registration of a case against the chief minister under Section 23 of the POCSO Act and Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act over the alleged disclosure of the minor's identity. She alleged that "the station house officer refused to register the FIR."
Police in a statement said Bharti's application sought a fair inquiry and that no person should be held guilty without investigation. It was made part of the probe in the case already registered.
Earlier, RJD national working president Tejashwi Prasad Yadav lashed out at chief minister Samrat Choudhary for allegedly revealing the identity of a girl who was molested a few days ago in Jamui district. The minor victim, along with her family, met Choudhary at the Chief Minister's residence. The family was assured of “speedy justice” and “strongest possible punishments for all culprits within a month through a speedy trial”. Choudhary shared a photograph of himself with the victim and her family members on his 'X' handle. The social media post was, however, quickly taken down. RJD leader Tejashwi saved a screenshot of the social media post to target Samrat Choudhary, who is BJP’s first chief minister in Bihar. Sharing the screenshot on his X handle, Tejashwi commented, “The foolish, inept, law offender Chief Minister of Bihar is himself tearing apart the provisions of the POCSO Act. By posting a photo from his social media handle with the family members of the minor victim in the Jamui incident, he is exposing the victim's identity. Under the POCSO Act (2012), it is legally mandatory to keep the identity of the victim child or minor confidential, and publicising it is a serious crime. (According to Section 23 of the POCSO Act-2012, the identity of the victim child cannot be disclosed through any media (print, electronic, or social media) or other means. This includes the child's name, address, photo, school, or any information related to the family that could reveal their identity.” “Disclosing the identity can result in imprisonment of six months to one year, a fine, or both.) The Chief Minister of Bihar should receive the harshest possible punishment for this crime; otherwise, who will respect the POCSO Act? Such violations of the law will continue when a seventh-grade dropout accused in seven murders is made the Chief Minister. People like him are not protectors of the law—they are its devourers," he claimed.
