Patna:
A disgusting video showing the molestation of a minor on a road in Bihar’s Jamui has triggered a storm on social media and sent the Opposition up in arms, with the police scrambling to catch those involved in the despicable act. The seriousness of the crime, however, hasn’t dawned on a Bihar minister.
Reacting to the Opposition’s charge that Bihar was in the grip of Jungle Raj, minister Shrawon Kumar said that “isolated” incidents do happen.
“It can’t be denied that isolated incidents do take place. Crime hasn’t ended in the world,” he said.
He assured that the government would conduct a thorough investigation and take strict action against the culprits.
The video showed a group of men assaulting a boy and molesting his female friend. They also tried to separate the girl from the boy. Both are students of Class 10 and had been returning from their coaching classes when the group accosted them.
Three people, including minors, have been taken into custody. Police have registered cases under the POCSO and Juvenile Justice Acts.
The Opposition has seized on the incident, alleging women are not safe in the state under Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary’s rule.
Also read: ‘Cause For Concern, But No Jungle Raj’: Bihar MP On Groping Shocker
“It’s a very sad incident. We are ashamed, but the government has no shame or embarrassment. (Chief Minister) Samrat Chaudhary used to say that girls are roaming freely at night. But the reality is that girls are not safe in Bihar — be it day or night,” said the Leader of Opposition in Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi described the incident as “deeply disturbing” and called out the inherent “patriarchy” that leads to such crimes.
“The video from Jamui, Bihar, is deeply disturbing. Two Class 10 students were stopped on a road. Harassed. Humiliated. Molested. A young girl, hands folded, begged to be let go while goons groped her and dragged her away,” he wrote on X.
“This is not ‘culture’. It is patriarchy: the belief that any man can police a girl’s body, her movement, her choice,” Gandhi added.
He demanded that all those who victimised the girl should be brought to justice under stringent laws.
Tej Pratap Yadav, the national president of Janshakti Janata Dal and Tejashwi Yadav’s brother, went as far as promising a hunger strike if the government doesn’t take concrete action in the case.
“The Bihar government bears full accountability for this, and the Chief Minister must answer for it. If he fails to respond, our party will stage a hunger strike and launch a protest movement in Bihar. Young people-especially women and girls-are being constantly harassed,” he stated.
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP from Jamui, Arun Bharti, called the incident a cause for concern. He, however, refuted the Opposition’s charge that the incident proved Jungle Raj exists in Bihar.
“Let me tell you, as soon as the incident came to our attention and the district administration’s attention today, we have been on course to make sure that the culprits are brought to justice,” he said.
