New Delhi: Even as outrage over the Jamui molestation video shows no sign of fading, two fresh cases of sexual assault on minors have surfaced in Bihar — one in Samastipur and another in Muzaffarpur — highlighting fresh alarm over women’s safety in the state.
In the Samastipur incident which occurred on September 15, a minor girl was allegedly beaten and molested by a group of men after they found her with a boy on a local embankment.
Sources said the pair had gone to the spot on a bike and were conversing when the group closed in. The men first abused and thrashed the boy, who managed to flee, before turning their attention to the girl.
Footage that later went viral shows one of the accused seizing the girl by her hands and trying to drag her away, while another attempts to grab her hair from behind. As she struggles, the harassment intensifies, with several members of the group hurling abuses and passing lewd remarks, as reported by India Today.
At one stage, the girl tries to break free and run, but one of them gropes her from behind, blocking her escape. Others then join in, pulling her towards another side of the embankment where more men were waiting. The group also made vulgar comments after she told them the boy was her brother.
The clip triggered widespread anger on social media, prompting police to take cognisance and launch an investigation. As per the latest inputs, four people have been arrested in connection with the case. The accused have been identified as Rahul Kumar (19), Awadhesh Paswan (46), Vikash Sharma (32) and Rambabu Sahni (38).
Speaking to India Today over the phone, senior police officer Arvind Pratap Singh said the accused were identified and a manhunt was launched to arrest them. Further details of the case are awaited.
The Samastipur incident comes just days after the Jamui case, in which a group of men stopped two Class 10 students — a boy and a girl — after they left coaching classes, harassed them and molested the girl in a video that sparked nationwide condemnation.
Muzaffarpur Incident
In a parallel development in Muzaffarpur, police have arrested a man named Lalit after a minor girl was allegedly harassed and assaulted in the Azad Road–Chandwara locality. The action followed a written complaint filed by the victim’s family.
The girl’s mother alleged that Lalit had been attempting to harass and molest her three minor daughters on several occasions over the last three months. On Wednesday, he reportedly attacked the three as they stood outside their residence, seized one of them and tried to drag her forcibly towards his house.
When the girl resisted, the mother said, Lalit turned violent, pulling her hair and striking her with an iron rod. he victim is presently receiving medical care at Muzaffarpur government hospital.
Police arrived at the scene after being alerted and launched an investigation. Senior police officer Kantesh Mishra confirmed that the accused was taken into custody shortly after the probe commenced.
Mishra stated that initial inputs suggested Lalit could be mentally unstable and that this angle was under examination.
