Patna, Sept. 22 -- Police on Tuesday claimed to have nabbed the two main accused in the molestation of a minor girl in Bihar's Jamui district, taking the total number of people held in connection with the September 19 incident to five, including three minors.
The two men were nabbed following an encounter in which both were injured, police said. The teenage girl and a boy from the same coaching centre were allegedly caught by a group on a road and harassed. Video clips circulating on social media showed the molestation.
Jamui SP Biswajeet Dayal said Nandan Yadav, who was spotted in the viral video with his face covered while groping the girl, suffered a bullet injury in his leg after he opened fire at police. Hareram fractured his knee while fleeing.
"An SIT had been constituted to investigate the incident. Three minor boys were detained yesterday. Raids were on today for the remaining accused. When Nandan and his accomplice Hareram were spotted by a police team this morning, the former opened fire," the SP said.
The incident, which took place near the district's border with adjoining Lakhisarai, came to light on Monday after video clips, apparently shot by accused persons, went viral. The girl was seen being picked up and touched inappropriately, while her friend pleaded for mercy.
The SP said police acted after the video went viral because neither the girl nor her male friend had lodged a complaint.
DIG Munger Range Rakesh Kumar said the three minors would be presented before the Juvenile Justice Board, while Nandan and Hareram would face trial. More arrests could follow after interrogation.
ADG Law and Order K Suhita Anupam said those who circulated the video, showing the girl's face, would also be booked under the IT Act.
The incident triggered a political war of words. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said schemes were meaningless if women could not be kept safe on streets. Rahul Gandhi had called the incident "deeply disturbing" and demanded action under the POCSO Act.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged a "collapse of law and order" and criticised its description as a "stray incident". The BJP alleged Nandan was an RJD supporter, drawing a response from Rohini Acharya.
BJP MLA Shreyasi Singh's remark that "moral policing" could be done "in a decent way" was criticised by the Congress. Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor described the incident as "horrifying and scary".
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.