Four arrested in Samastipur after video shows girl harassed on bypass road

Four men have been arrested in Bihar's Samastipur district after a video surfaced showing a girl being harassed by a group of youths on a bypass road in broad daylight, police said.

The footage, which circulated widely on social media, purportedly shows a man holding the girl's hand and pulling her while another grabs her by the hair and attempts to photograph her. The men are also heard asking her name as she struggles to break free.

According to Samastipur Superintendent of Police Arvind Pratap Singh, the video came to the police's notice during social media monitoring on the evening of September 23. Technical verification was carried out immediately and the location was identified, he said, adding that the incident appears to have taken place about a week earlier.

The girl seen in the clip appeared prima facie to be a minor, the SP said. As her identity could not be established immediately, police registered an FIR on Thursday based on a police officer's statement. The case was lodged at Karpurigram police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology Act.

Police said all four accused were arrested within six hours of receiving the alert. They were identified as Vikas Kumar, Rahul Kumar, Ram Babu Sahni and Awadhesh Paswan, all residents of the local police station limits. Further legal action is underway, and efforts are on to identify others involved, the SP said, describing the matter as sensitive and under inquiry.

The incident occurred a few kilometres from the Samastipur district headquarters. According to police sources, the girl had stopped to take photographs while travelling with a boy when three men surrounded her and began harassing her.

Samastipur Police appealed to the public not to share posts, videos or other content that could reveal the girl's identity or cause her further mental or social harm. Sharing such content in a manner that reveals the identity of a minor victim amounts to a cognisable offence under applicable law, the SP said, warning that action would be taken against anyone found guilty.

The case comes days after the alleged molestation of a minor girl in Jamui, where videos showed a group of men surrounding two teenagers on a bike, with the girl allegedly molested and the boy assaulted. An FIR was registered in that case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the POCSO Act. Two men, Nandan Yadav and Hareram Yadav, have been arrested and three minors detained. Yadav was also injured during a police encounter earlier this week, with police claiming he was resisting arrest.

The Jamui incident became a political flashpoint. Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly and RJD national working president Tejashwi Yadav alleged on X that the public molestation of a minor girl in Samastipur was proof that law and order had collapsed in BJP-ruled Bihar, and criticised the state government's response.