Five detained in Bihar’s Samastipur after girl allegedly harassed, video surfaces
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Patna: Five people have been detained in Bihar’s Samastipur after a video purportedly showing a young girl being harassed by a group of men surfaced on social media, police said.
The incident comes days after a Class 10 student was allegedly harassed in Jamui district.
According to preliminary information, the incident took place on Bandh Bypass Road in Jagatsinghpur village under the Karpurigram police station limits, a few kilometres from the Samastipur district headquarters.
The girl had reportedly stopped by the roadside with a male companion to take photographs when a group of youths allegedly surrounded her and misbehaved with her.
The video, which began circulating on social media late on Wednesday, purportedly shows the youths asking the girl about her identity, abusing her and behaving inappropriately. One of them also appears to attempt to pull her along the road.
Police suspect that an onlooker recorded the incident on a mobile phone before the footage was circulated widely. After taking note of the video, Samastipur Police launched an investigation and began identifying those seen in it.
Two suspects have been identified as Vikas Sharma and Rahul Kumar, both residents of Jagatsinghpur. Five people from the village have been detained and are being questioned. Police said several liquor-related cases had previously been registered against Sharma.
Samastipur Superintendent of Police Arvind Pratap Singh said officers were examining the role of every person visible in the video and had been directed to speed up the investigation and initiate appropriate legal action.
The police are also checking the authenticity of the footage, verifying the location and timing of the incident and tracing the person who recorded it. Investigators are examining whether the video shows the entire episode or has been edited before being circulated.
Police officials said the identities of all those seen in the footage, the exact circumstances of the incident and the total number of people involved would be established only after the investigation is completed.
(Inputs from IANS)