Patna : A purported incident of a girl being harassed in public has surfaced in Samastipur , days after a similar case involving a minor girl in Jamui triggered outrage and police action. A video showing a girl allegedly being surrounded and harassed by a group of youths near an embankment in Samastipur has gone viral on social media. Four accused were arrested on Thursday.




The video came to police notice on Sept 23, while the incident itself is believed to have occurred about a week earlier when the girl and a male acquaintance stopped near the embankment to take photographs. Some youths allegedly surrounded her and began harassing her. The incident was recorded by someone at the spot and the footage was later circulated on social media.




The video shows the girl standing on the road while several youths surround her. One youth is seen repeatedly holding her hand despite her attempts to get away, while another moves towards her after she protests.




The girl is heard asking the youths to let her go. At one point, she says she will call her brother, to which the youths respond, “Okay, call him.”




Samastipur SP Arvind Pratap Singh said on the evening of Sept 23, during social media monitoring, it came to notice that a video was spreading rapidly on various social media platforms in which 3-4 persons were seen indulging in indecent behaviour with a girl.




“Considering the sensitivity of the matter, the video was immediately technically verified. On the basis of verification, the place of occurrence was identified as the road near a dam under the Karpuri Gram police station area,” Singh said.




He said the girl prima facie appeared to be a minor. “Police registered a case at Karpuri Gram police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Pocso Act and IT Act , based on the statement of a police officer.




Police identified all four accused and arrested them. Further legal action is being taken,” Singh said.




Police appealed to people not to share any content that could reveal the girl’s identity or cause her mental or social harm, saying such sharing constitutes a cognizable offence.




The development comes days after the Jamui case in which a Class X girl and a male classmate were allegedly stopped and harassed by youths while returning from Marwa Pahad on Sept 19. Videos of the incident circulated online, following which police registered a case and launched a probe. Several accused have since been arrested.