Viral video of Bihar minors’ assault, groping triggers outrage

Bihar was on the boil on Monday after a video of the assault and groping of two minors by a group of men in Bihar went viral online. The incident, which was recorded on video by one of the assaulters, reportedly happened on the evening of September 19, Saturday, in Jamui district.

The video shows two minors — a boy and a girl — allegedly being harassed and groped by a group of people along the Jamui-Lakhisarai road, even as police said three of the alleged perpetrators had been arrested.

“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,” said Jamui SP Bishwajeet Dayal. An 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”, he added.

The 15-year-olds were riding a scooter home after coaching classes, when they were confronted by a group of men who asked if their families knew they were together. The men then slapped the boy and dragged him by his collar. The girl was assaulted, groped, lifted by her neck and near her private parts, and dragged along the road. The video shows the girl pleading with folded hands, promising they wouldn’t return if they let her go.

The group forced the students to apologise before letting them go.

The Bihar police has formed a Special Investigation Team led by SDPO Deepti Monali to lead the investigation. So far, seven suspects from the footage have been identified, the police claim. Three suspects have been arrested, and police are still searching for the others, including the man seen sexually assaulting the girl.

State Women’s Commission Chairperson Apsara Mishra said a detailed report had been sought from the district administration on the incident, which has triggered criticism of the BJP-led Government over the safety of women and girls in the state.

The episode triggered a political slugfest, with criticisms coming from several opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi.

Gandhi, who is Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, came out with an angry post on X, describing the incident as “deeply disturbing”.

“This is not culture, it is patriarchy,” the Congress leader said, alleging that “andhbhakts” were responsible for such attitudes being “normalised”.

The Rae Bareli MP demanded that the persons identified in the video be “prosecuted under POCSO” and asked the BJP-led Government in the State “why a girl is not safe on a public road”.

The Aam Aadmi Party also shared the video clip on its X handle, reminding Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his “beti bachao” slogan and alleging “in your BJP-ruled State of Bihar, a daughter’s dignity is being torn to shreds”.

RJD working president Tejashwi Yadav, who is the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, blamed the incident on Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary without naming him and referred to him as “nausikhiya” (inept).

Yadav also held Modi “solely responsible” for the “anarchy in Bihar”, and alleged that JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, the former chief minister, was “made to pack his bags within four months of getting a fresh mandate by offering doles to the state’s women”.

The Trinamool Congress also condemned the incident.

“What gives anyone the right to put their hands on a woman’s body, WITHOUT HER CONSENT? Who gave these hooligans the authority to moral-police a young woman and a young man, humiliate them and violate their dignity?”, the party said in a post on X.

“The Jamui incident is deeply disturbing. The trauma inflicted on that young woman - and on the young man who was subjected to such humiliation - will not disappear anytime soon. Every person responsible in the incident must face due process and the strongest punishment permitted by law, without delay or political interference,” it said.

In Kolkata, Union Panchayati Raj and Fisheries Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh asserted that law and order in Bihar is totally secure.

The Munger MP asserted that women are now free to step out of their homes at any time of the day in the state.

“Law and order in the State is totally secure,” Singh said on the sidelines of a review meeting on development of fisheries in West Bengal.