Patna: Days after the horrific molestation case in Bihar’s Jamui district, a girl was allegedly harassed in public by a group of people in Samastipur and a minor was “sexually assaulted” in Muzaffarpur, prompting the Opposition to target the BJP-led NDA government over the law and order situation.
The fresh incidents led to the arrest of altogether five persons, police said on Thursday.
In Samastipur, the police arrested four persons who have been booked under relevant sections of the BNS, besides the IT Act and POCSO Act, after a video went viral on social media in which they could be seen molesting the girl.
According to a statement issued by Samastipur police, the video “appears about a week old” and the victim was “yet to be identified”, though a case was lodged under the aforementioned laws since “the girl looked like a minor and the matter was sensitive”.
Three of the accused, Vikas Kumar, Rahul Kumar and Rambabu Sahni, were residents of Jagatsinghpur village, where the incident had taken place, while the fourth, Awadhesh Paswan, hailed from Bijaulia.
In adjoining Muzaffarpur, police arrested one Lalit Kumar, who had allegedly molested and beaten up a girl in the Town police station area.
According to the Muzaffarpur police, the accused appeared to be mentally unstable, and his condition was being investigated by experts while the victim has been admitted to the Sadar Hospital for treatment.
Police also debunked rumours on social media that a similar incident had taken place in Madhepura.
According to the Madhepura police, a video that was being circulated was shot near a secondary school, and the students, male and female, were engaged in a heated debate after half-yearly examinations. The Madhepura police also said it will take action against “those who shared the video on social media with ulterior motives”.
Meanwhile, the fresh incidents led to fresh attacks on the state’s BJP-led government from Opposition leaders like RJD working president Tejashwi Yadav and Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor.
Yadav, who is the leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, linked the worsening law and order with alleged criminal antecedents of Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. He also shared a video of minister Ashok Choudhary, claiming that the outbursts of the senior JD(U) leader were “a clear signal of administrative chaos that engulfs Bihar”.
Ashok Choudhary, whose daughter Shambhavi is, incidentally, the LJPRV MP from Samastipur, can be heard saying the incidents in Bihar should not be fretted about as crimes against women took place “in highly advanced countries like America and Japan”.
