Jamui harassment video sparks arrests and political row in Bihar
A viral video of a minor girl and her friend being harassed in Jamui has led to arrests and a political row between the RJD and the ruling NDA in Bihar.
A video showing a minor girl and her male friend being harassed and molested by a group of men in Bihar's Jamui district has gone viral on social media, prompting police action and a political confrontation in the State.
According to the police, the incident took place on the evening of September 19 on the Jamui-Lakhisarai road, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Jamui Police Station. The clip, which is undated, surfaced online on Monday.
Jamui Superintendent of Police Vishwajit Dayal said no formal complaint had been filed by anyone in the matter. The police, he said, took suo motu cognizance of the video and approached the girl and her friend. Both were returning from a hillside area after their coaching classes when a group of six to seven people, some of them masked, stopped them on the road, as seen in the footage, and harassed them.
An FIR was registered on September 20. The SP said all the people shown in the video have been taken into custody, with a few of them already arrested, and that the police will soon arrest everyone found involved.
The Bihar State Commission for Women also took suo motu cognizance of the incident. Its chairperson, Apsara, said she had spoken to Jamui officials, who told her the incident occurred at 7 p.m. on September 19. She said stern action would be taken against all those found involved and that the Commission stands with women in distress.
The incident has triggered a political slugfest. Rashtriya Janata Dal spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav alleged that the law and order situation in the State has collapsed, even as the government claims women in Bihar can travel safely at midnight. He called the Jamui incident a blot on the government and expressed hope that the police would act soon.
Ruling JD(U) leader and Bihar Minister for Rural Works Department Sunil Kumar said he had spoken to the Jamui SP and obtained the details. He said all those allegedly involved have been taken into custody, two of them arrested, and that all of them would soon be behind bars. The matter, he added, was raised at the government level.
BJP spokesman Kuntal Kumar said all those found involved would be sent to jail and a speedy trial would be conducted against them. Nobody would be spared, he said, adding that the local police are working on the case seriously.