Bihar sees third harassment case in a week as woman assaulted at Mandar Hill

Bihar has reported another alleged harassment incident involving a woman, with a video from the popular Mandar Hill tourist spot in Banka surfacing on social media. Police have registered an FIR against six unidentified youths in connection with the incident.

The case is the third such incident reported in the state within a week, coming shortly after similar cases in Samastipur and Jamui triggered public outrage.

The video shows a group of youths allegedly behaving indecently with a young woman. One of them is seen assaulting her with a slipper, while another appears to threaten her. The woman's age and identity have not been established so far.

Police begin search for suspects

Bousni police learnt about the incident through social media on September 22 and began looking into the video. Officers later confirmed that the incident had taken place at Mandar Hill.

According to the FIR, six unidentified youths were allegedly involved in "indecent behaviour and obscene acts" with the woman. The incident was recorded and the video was subsequently circulated online.

Police have begun efforts to identify the people seen in the video as well as the woman. Villagers living around Mandar Hill and local shopkeepers have also been questioned as part of the investigation.

Bounsi Station House Officer Pankaj Kumar Jha said the FIR was registered on the basis of his own statement. Police are treating the viral video as key evidence.

The case has been registered under Sections 74, 75, 76 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 66E and 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Incident follows Samastipur, Jamui cases

The Banka case comes days after two other alleged harassment incidents in Bihar.

In Samastipur, four people were arrested after a video showed a teenage girl and a man allegedly being harassed in public. Police said they took suo motu cognisance as the survivor has not yet been identified or traced.

Earlier, five people were arrested over a video showing the alleged sexual assault of a Class 10 girl and harassment of her male friend in Jamui. The incident took place on September 19 when the two teenagers were returning from Mawara Hill on a two-wheeler.

Opposition targets government

The incidents have also drawn criticism from the Opposition over law and order in Bihar.

RJD MP Manoj Jha said, “I am asking the Prime Minister, what should I call this state by? You decide, Prime Minister. Whatever you say, we will accept it. You go to elections and narrate 20 to 25-year-old fairy tales because someone handed you a written script. Say something at least for once. And stop treating Bihar as merely a voting state,”

Samastipur MP Shambhavi Choudhary posted on X: “The incident of misconduct with one of our sisters in Karpoorigram of Samastipur is extremely condemnable and unfortunate.”