Kamal Ghorui
PATNA: In a disturbing incident that has triggered widespread condemnation, a married woman was publicly groped and subjected to an attempted gang rape on a village road in Nalanda district on the evening of March 26. The matter came to light after a video went viral on Tuesday.The incident occurred when the victim, who was returning home with groceries, was allegedly filmed by the perpetrators. The video was later circulated widely after she lodged a police complaint. Police have since arrested two of the accused while a search is underway for the third.
The woman, a mother of two whose husband works in Nashik in Maharashtra, was walking back from a nearby shop when three local youths accosted her. They allegedly grabbed her, dragged her along the street, touched her inappropriately, tried to tear her clothes and attempted to rape her while hurling obscenities.She fought back and raised an alarm, pleading for mercy, but the assailants refused to let go.A crowd soon gathered at the scene. Instead of intervening, many onlookers reportedly pulled out their phones and recorded the incident as it unfolded. The assault was captured in shaky clips lasting about 42 seconds and later shared online in three separate parts.The footage shows the men holding the woman tightly as she struggles and begs to be released. The perpetrators are heard urging their companions to keep filming while continuing the assault in full public view.On March 27, the woman lodged a formal complaint at the local police station. In an alleged act of retaliation, the accused circulated the video widely on social media, intensifying her trauma and drawing public attention to the case.On the complaint, police formed a special team that conducted raids and arrested two of the accused — Ashok Yadav and Matlu Mahto alias Navneet Kumar Narottam. Both have been sent to judicial custody. Raids are continuing to nab the third suspect, identified as Ravikant Kumar.Authorities have invoked relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to assault on a woman’s dignity and other offences.Nalanda SP Bharat Soni said the video relates to an incident of molestation involving a woman.“So far, three people have been named in the case, out of which two have been arrested. They are from the same village of the victim. We formed an SIT under the supervision of Sadar DSP II Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal on the same day, March 27, when the complaint came to light. The arrests were made that very night,” he said.
Poll
What do you think could improve women’s safety in public spaces?
He added that the investigation is continuing to ascertain all facts, including claims of prior enmity or other angles raised by the parties involved.“It also came to light that the woman had an alleged illicit relation with another youth of the village and she was caught before the incident on March 26. The police are examining all the angles,” the SP said, adding that the guilty would face action as per the law.RJD leader Rohini Acharya, daughter of Lalu Prasad Yadav, criticised the state govt on social media, describing the episode as a shameful incident that exposed the hollowness of claims about women’s safety in Bihar.
