Four arrested after Samastipur girl harassment video surfaces online (Img: X)
Samastipur: After Jamui molestation incident, a fresh case of harassment and molestation of a young girl has triggered outrage in Bihar, with four men arrested after a video purportedly showing the incident in public surfaced on social media.
The incident took place on Wednesday on Dam Bypass Road in Jagatsinghpur village under Karpurigram police station. Police said the four men seen in the 56-second video were arrested from their respective homes.
The footage shows the girl surrounded by several youths. One of them is allegedly seen repeatedly holding her arm as she tries to move away, while another appears to attempt to hit her. The girl can be heard asking them to let her go and saying that she would call her brother.
One of the youths allegedly responds, “Okay, call him.”
According to police, the girl had been travelling with a boy and stopped on the bypass road to take photographs when some local youths allegedly approached them. The youths allegedly abused and harassed her, while the incident was recorded on a mobile phone and later circulated on social media.
The arrests came as political leaders in Bihar reacted to the incident and assured that those found responsible would face strict action.
Bihar Education Minister Mithilesh Tiwari condemned the alleged misconduct and said the government would act firmly in cases involving women and girls.
“If any such incident involving girls or women occurs in Bihar, the government will deal with it firmly. The women of Bihar are the pride of the state, and the administration will take strict action against anyone who compromises their dignity,” Tiwari said.
Senior JD(U) leader and Bihar Minister Shravan Kumar also condemned the alleged incident, describing the conduct as deeply distressing. He said the government would take the strictest possible action against anyone found responsible and stressed the need for greater social awareness.
Kumar also referred to the police action in the Jamui case while responding to allegations that particular communities were being targeted. He maintained that criminal investigations should be based on the actions of individuals rather than their caste or religion.
Meanwhile, VIP chief Mukesh Sahani criticised the Bihar government over the Samastipur and Jamui incidents. He alleged that the fear of law and order had diminished in the state and accused the government of focusing more on defending itself than addressing public concerns.
The Samastipur incident comes days after a separate case in Jamui involving a Class X girl and her male classmate. The two students were allegedly stopped by a group of youths while returning from Marwa Pahad after attending a coaching class.
The youths allegedly surrounded them, forced them off their scooter and assaulted and harassed them. Videos of the incident later circulated online.
Jamui police said seven to eight people had been identified from the footage and three accused, all minors, had been detained. An FIR 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 is investigating the case. Police said they were examining the evidence to establish the role of each person identified in the videos.
