Samastipur (Bihar) [India], September 24 (ANI): Four persons have been arrested within six hours after a video showing alleged indecent behaviour with a young girl went viral on social media, Samastipur Superintendent of Police (SP) Arbind Pratap Singh said on Thursday.
The incident took place near an embankment road in Jagat Singhpur village under the jurisdiction of Karpuri Gram Police Station in Samastipur district, the SP told reporters.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference, SP Arbind Pratap Singh said, "Bihar Police continuously conducts social media patrolling. In the course of this, and through local sources, we received a video containing highly sensitive visuals of an incident. The video showed three or four individuals subjecting a young girl to indecent behaviour. The video came to my personal attention around 10:30 pm."
The Samastipur SP informed that the video came to police attention around 10:30 pm, following which they launched an investigation, identified the location and arrested the accused involved in the incident.
"Recognising the sensitivity of the matter, the Samastipur Police have been working continuously on this case from the moment it came to our notice until this very press conference. Given the sensitivity, our first step was to identify the scene of the crime; we pinpointed a location near an embankment road in Jagat Singhpur, under the jurisdiction of the Karpuri Gram Police Station in Samastipur district," he added.
The Samastipur SP added police immediately attempted to identify the victim, adding that her identity could not be established at that time. However, she appeared to be a minor based on a prima facie assessment of the video.
The case has been registered invoking relevant sections of the BNS, POCSO Act, and IT Act considering the highly sensitive nature of the incident, the Samastipur SP added.
"Due to the highly sensitive nature of the incident, we registered a case (Case No. 117/26) at the Karpuri Gram Police Station based on the statement of a police officer, invoking relevant sections of the BNS, POCSO Act, and IT Act, and commenced the investigation," Singh said.
He further said that police identified the accused involved in the incident and arrested all four of them. "The accused are Vikas Kumar, Rahul Kumar, Ram Babu Sahni -- all residents of Jagat Singhpur village -- and the fourth accused, Awadhesh Paswan, a resident of Bijolia village," he said.
The police official further added that during interrogation, it was revealed that the incident had taken place approximately a week ago, likely on September 15.
"The video related to the incident was found on the mobile phone of one of the accused; it appears to have been forwarded to others over time, and after 9:00 PM last night, it began circulating via various social media users and eventually went viral," he said.
The police action comes days after an alleged assault case involving a Class 10 girl in Bihar's Jamui district raised concern over the safety of woman across state. In the Samastipur case, authorities acted after the circulation of the viral video and initiated legal proceedings under relevant provisions.
Further investigation is still underway in the matter, police added. (ANI)
Samastipur viral video case: 4 arrested within six hours after alleged molestation of minor girl, says SP Arbind Pratap
