Jehanabad Molestation Case: Bihar Police Apprehends Four Minors

With four minors apprehended, the total number of persons held in the case went up to eight

Protests against rape. Image used for representational purposes.

(Photo: PTI)

Four minors were apprehended in Bihar’s Jehanabad on Tuesday, 1 May in connection with the alleged molestation of a girl, after a video of the incident went viral on the social media last week, police said.

With this, the total number of persons held in the case went up to eight, they added.

The incident came to light after the video clip, shot by one of the alleged perpetrators, went viral on the social media, he added. The video shows a mob of boys misbehaving with the teenaged girl, attempting to rip her clothes off.

The four minors were apprehended a day after four other residents of Bharthua village, including a minor, were held in connection with the case, Jehanabad Superintendent of Police (SP) Manish Kumar said, adding that the village was located within the Kako police station limits.

The video was taken off social media sites after the cyber police intervened.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT), set up by the Inspector General of Police of Patna Zone, Naiyar Hasnain Khan, nabbed four persons, including a minor, from Bharthua on Monday, 30 April with the help of clues obtained from the video clip, in which the accused are seen trying to outrage the modesty of the girl.

A case was registered under various sections of the IPC and POCSO Act in this regard.

The victim was produced before a court this afternoon, where her statement was recorded by a magistrate under section 164 of the CrPC, the SP said.

Speaking to The Times of India, sub-inspector Shyam Sundar Singh said:

The FIR has been lodged under Section 376 (rape) and 511 (punishment for offences punishable with life or other imprisonment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 8 (sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

Meanwhile, the Indian Express reported that the police zeroed in on the accused based off a motorcycle that was visible in the video clip. The police identified that the motorcycle belongs to one Ravi Ranjan Kumar, and the vehicle was registered in Kako, Jehanabad.

(With inputs from PTI, Indian Express and TOI)

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