‘Harassment’ caught on camera in Samastipur: 4 arrested after video goes viral
Samastipur: Four people have been arrested in Bihar's Samastipur district after a video circulated on social media allegedly showed a group of men behaving indecently with a girl in public, police said on Thursday.
The incident, which police believe took place about a week ago, came to light after the purported video went viral on social media. The girl appears to be a minor, according to the Samastipur Police statement.
Police said the incident occurred near a bridge in Jagat Singhpur village. The video was noticed during social media monitoring on Wednesday evening, following which officers began efforts to identify those involved.
The video was technically verified after it surfaced online. Since the identity of the girl could not initially be established, police registered an FIR based on the information available in the video.
The case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Information Technology (IT) Act, police said.
Investigators subsequently identified and arrested all four people allegedly involved in the incident.
Police said the video appeared to show three to four people behaving indecently with the girl. The authenticity of the video could not be independently verified by Mathrubhumi.
Incident comes amid similar cases in Bihar
The Samastipur case comes days after alleged molestation incidents reported from Jamui and Darbhanga, adding to concerns over cases of public harassment being recorded and circulated on social media.
The latest case has also triggered a political reaction in Bihar.
Bihar Assembly Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav condemned the incident and questioned the law and order situation in the state.
Yadav alleged that the Samastipur incident reflected a wider failure in maintaining law and order and questioned whether the case would be treated as an isolated incident.
He also made allegations involving Chief Minister, caste and the handling of criminal cases, while questioning Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's response to the incident.
The police investigation into the Samastipur case is continuing.
With PTI inputs