PATNA: In an incident that has brought Bihar’s law and order under the spotlight again, a Class X girl was subjected to harassment and molestation on the road by a group of youths in Jamui district, who also recorded the act on camera.As video clips of the act went viral, triggering a storm, police detained three perpetrators, all minors, on Monday.The horror unfolded on Saturday when the girl had gone to Marwa Pahad, a scenic hill, along with a male classmate on a scooter after attending coaching classes.While the two were returning, a group stopped and surrounded them. They allegedly forced them off the scooter and started questioning and abusing them.The videos show the youth harassing the girl and touching her inappropriately. Her friend was manhandled, too. As the two tried to run away, they were chased and roughed up.Their ordeal allegedly lasted 15-20 minutes before the two students managed to flee the spot.Two video clips of the harassment went viral on Monday, sparking an outrage and prompting police to initiate action.“The girl and her friend were traced and their statements were recorded. After receiving a written complaint from the girl, an FIR was registered. All the youths visible in the videos have been identified,” Jamui SP Vishwajit Dayal said.The SP constituted an SIT, headed by SDPO Deepti Monali, to conduct a probe. She said based on the video footage, seven-eight persons were booked under various sections of BNS and Pocso Act. While three of them were taken into custody, raids were being carried out to apprehend the others, she added.Police are also taking steps to remove the videos uploaded on social media, officials said.Police are also scrutinising the criminal records, if any, of the accused and analysing the videos and other available evidence to establish the role of each person involved. Opposition members, including Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav, launched an attack on Samrat Choudhary govt, while BJP members pushed back against charges of lawlessness.The NCW and state women’s commission also took cognisance of the incident. NCW chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar wrote to Bihar DGP, seeking action against the accused and a detailed action-taken report within seven days.
