Days after a video showing the alleged harassment of two teenagers in Bihar’s Jamui sparked outrage, another video showing the alleged public harassment of a girl has surfaced from Samastipur district.
The incident reportedly took place near a dam in Jagat Singhpur village under the Karpuri Gram police station area. Samastipur Police said four people have been arrested in connection with the case.
Samastipur Superintendent of Police Arvind Pratap Singh said police came across the video on September 23 during social media monitoring. The footage allegedly showed three to four people behaving indecently with a girl.
“Considering the sensitivity of the matter, the video was immediately technically verified,” Singh said.
He said police identified the location as a road near the dam in Jagat Singhpur village.
Four Accused Arrested
According to police, the incident is believed to have taken place about a week ago. The girl seen in the video prima facie appears to be a minor.
Police said they registered a case at Karpuri Gram Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Information Technology Act.
The four accused were identified as Vikas Kumar Sharma, Rahul Kumar, Awadhesh Paswan and Rambabu Sahni.
Police said all four were arrested within six hours of receiving information about the video.
The footage circulating online appears to show several young men surrounding the girl on a road. One of them is allegedly seen holding her hand while she tries to move away. The girl can reportedly be heard asking the men to let her go and saying that she would call her brother.
The exact circumstances of the incident and the sequence of events are part of the ongoing investigation.
Police Warn Against Sharing Video
Since the girl is believed to be a minor, the Samastipur Police has appealed to media organisations and social media users not to share content that could reveal her identity.
The police said sharing such material could cause further mental and social harm to the survivor and may also amount to a cognisable offence.
The police are continuing their investigation into the incident.
Samastipur Case Comes After Jamui Incident
The case comes days after another video from Jamui district showed a Class 10 girl and her male classmate allegedly being stopped and harassed by a group of youths.
The Jamui incident reportedly took place on September 19 when the two teenagers were returning from the Marwa Pahad area. Videos of the incident were widely circulated on social media, following which police registered a case and arrested several accused.
The two incidents have since drawn attention to allegations of public harassment of women and girls in Bihar.
The Samastipur case remains under investigation, and the allegations against the arrested men have not yet been established in court.
