Days after a Class 10 student was allegedly harassed in Bihar’s Jamui, a similar incident has been reported in Samastipur. A video purportedly showing the public harassment of a young girl has surfaced on social media, following which police launched action and detained five suspects.
The alleged incident took place on Bandh Bypass Road in Jagatsinghpur village, within the jurisdiction of Karpurigram police station, a few kilometres from the Samastipur district headquarters.
According to preliminary information gathered by the police, the girl had stopped by the roadside with a male companion to take photographs when a group of youths surrounded her and allegedly misbehaved with her.
The video, which started circulating widely on social media late Wednesday, allegedly shows a group of youths questioning the girl about her identity, verbally abusing her and behaving inappropriately with her. The footage also appears to show an attempt to pull her along the road.
According to police, an onlooker is believed to have recorded the incident on a mobile phone, after which the video was widely circulated across social media platforms. Upon learning about the footage, Samastipur Police launched an investigation and began efforts to identify those seen in the video.
Police have so far identified two suspects, Vikas Sharma and Rahul Kumar, both residents of Jagatsinghpur village. Five individuals from the village have been detained and are being questioned in connection with the case. Police said several liquor-related cases are already registered against Vikas Sharma.
Samastipur Superintendent of Police Arvind Pratap Singh said officials were investigating the roles of all people captured in the video and were instructed to expedite the probe and take necessary legal action against culprits.
Investigators are also verifying the authenticity of the video, establishing when and where the incident took place, and identifying the person who recorded the footage. Police are examining whether the viral clip reflects the complete sequence of events or has been circulated in an edited form.
Officials said the identities of everyone appearing in the video, the exact circumstances of the alleged incident and the number of people involved would become clear only after the investigation is completed. Police continue to question the detained suspects and gather information from local residents as the probe progresses.
