Jamui (Bihar): Police in Bihar’s Jamui district Monday said they were tracking down those allegedly involved in the harassment of a boy and a girl by a roadside, a video of which has triggered outrage on social media.
Jamui SP Bishwajeet Dayal said the incident took place September 19 evening and the victims were traced with the help of the registration number of a vehicle seen in the video.
“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,” the SP told reporters.
“The accused have not been named by them in the FIR that we lodged at Jamui police station, but we have identified about seven perpetrators with the help of the video clip, and they will soon be arrested,” Dayal said.
He said the boy and the girl were friends and attended the same coaching institute, but declined to provide further details, saying, “We must keep some information private”.
The video, which purportedly shows the two being harassed by a group of people, has drawn criticism on social media as well as from political leaders.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi described the incident as “deeply disturbing” in a post on X.
“This is not culture, it is patriarchy,” Gandhi said, alleging that “andhbhakts” were responsible for such attitudes being “normalised”.
The Congress leader 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”.
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.