Bihar CM vows speedy justice, reveals Jamui survivor's identity
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary promised "speedy justice" to the minor survivor of the Jamui molestation case when she met him with her family on Thursday. Officials said Choudhary assured the family of the "strongest possible punishments to all culprits within a month through speedy trial". But even as he promised justice, the Chief Minister shared on X a photograph of himself with the minor survivor and her family, a post that was quickly taken down.
This has brought a sharp response from RJD national working president and Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav. Sharing a screenshot of the deleted post (with blurred faces of the victim's family), Yadav called Choudhary "foolish and inept" and accused him of "violating the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act". He demanded the "strongest possible punishment" against the Chief Minister for the alleged violation.
The controversy is striking because Bihar Police have themselves been cracking down on the circulation of the Jamui assault video. Police registered a case against around 120 social media profiles for allegedly circulating footage that revealed the girl's identity, issued takedown notices and warned people against sharing it, citing provisions of the Pocso Act, IT Act and Juvenile Justice law.
Moreover, the Jamui outrage has also been followed by disturbing videos from elsewhere in Bihar. Four people were arrested after a girl, believed by police to be a minor, was allegedly harassed in Samastipur, while police in Banka registered a suo motu FIR against six unidentified youths after another video surfaced purportedly showing a minor girl being harassed at Mandar Parvat, a religious centre for Hindus, Jains and Buddhists in Banka district's Bounsi.The Jamui assault had already triggered a political row after a JD(U) leader, whose party is a partner in Bihar's ruling NDA, described such crimes as "chhitput ghatnayein", or sporadic incidents.
The controversy began after the Jamui survivor and her family met Choudhary on Thursday. Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who also holds the Home portfolio, assured them of "speedy justice". Officials said he promised the "strongest possible punishments to all culprits within a month through a speedy trial", reported PTI.
Choudhary then shared on X a photograph of himself with the survivor and members of her family. The post did not stay up for long and was deleted, but not before the RJD leader and the Leader of Opposition, Tejashwi Yadav, saved a screenshot and posted it from his own account.
Yadav's attack centred on the protection given to child survivors under the Pocso Act. Section 23(2) says media reports cannot disclose a child's identity, including the "name, address, photograph, family details, school, neighbourhood" or other particulars that could lead to identification. A Special Court can permit disclosure if it records reasons and finds it to be in the child's interest, says the statute.
Whether Choudhary's particular post constitutes an offence would ultimately be a matter for the competent legal courts to determine. Yadav, however, had no such hesitation in accusing the Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary of breaking the law. 'FOOLISH AND INEPT': TEJASHWI SLAMS BIHAR CMYadav called the Chief Minister "foolish and inept" and alleged that he was himself "violating the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act".
"The BJP leader deserves the strongest possible punishment for violating provisions of the Pocso Act," Yadav said on X.
Yadav's sister and RJD MP, Misa Bharti, also shared the screenshot and urged the Bihar Police to "lodge an FIR against the CM".
She pointed to the apparent contradiction at the centre of the controversy. She highlighted that the same Bihar Police has been pursuing social media users for circulating the Jamui footage and revealing the minor's identity.120 SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES FACE ACTION OVER JAMUI ASSAULT VIDEO
The molestation in Jamui incident took place on September 19 when a teenage boy and girl, both Class 10 students, were stopped near the district's Marwa Pahad area and morally policed. A group surrounded the two, questioned and assaulted them, while the girl was molested. The assault was filmed, and the videos subsequently spread across social media.
Police, which came to know about the incident only after the video went viral, acted as the survivors didn't lodge any complaints. A case was registered under relevant provisions, including the Pocso Act, and an SIT was constituted. Police identified several people allegedly involved and began making arrests.
The viral footage created a second offence trail. The Cyber Police in Jamui registered an FIR against around 120 social media profiles for allegedly circulating the video and revealing the minor's identity. Police also issued takedown notices for the clips and publicly appealed to people not to circulate them. It is against that backdrop that a photograph of the survivor being posted on the Chief Minister's social media account has triggered the latest political storm.
Even as Bihar was dealing with the Jamui outrage, another video surfaced from Samastipur showing a girl being allegedly harassed and assaulted by a group of men. Then came Banka. A video purportedly shot at Mandar Parvat showed a girl being surrounded and harassed, with one youth appearing to twist her arm and another attempting to hit her with a slipper. Police registered a suo motu FIR against six unidentified youths, though investigators said preliminary findings suggested the video could be around six months old and were still establishing when the incident actually occurred.
Three disturbing incidents and their videos from Bihar have thus brought the treatment and safety of girls into focus within days, with the RJD-led Opposition targeting the BJP-led NDA government over women's safety.- Ends
