PATNA: The father of the alleged main accused in the molestation of a minor girl in Bihar’s Jamui district has been arrested in connection with a double murder case dating back to 2003, police said.Ganauri Yadav, who had allegedly been absconding for 21 years, was arrested when police raided his house to apprehend his son Nandan Yadav, the alleged main accused in the recent molestation case.During the investigation following Nandan’s arrest, police checked the criminal history of his family. The probe and his interrogation led officers to an old case involving his father, Ganauri.Police found that Ganauri was a named accused in a double murder case registered on April 3, 2003. Two men, DP Yadav and Pune Yadav, were allegedly killed in Pratappur village that day following a business dispute. The mother of the deceased had named Ganauri in the case. He had allegedly been evading arrest ever since.According to Jamui Police, “Nandan Yadav, son of Ganauri Yadav, is the main accused in the recent Jamui molestation case. He is accused of brutally assaulting a Class 10 student in the middle of the road and openly molesting his minor girl-friend. The incident had sparked outrage in the district.”Police had formed a special investigation team after video clips of the September 19 incident surfaced on social media.Three minor boys had already been detained in connection with the case. Nandan and his alleged accomplice Hareram were later arrested following an encounter with police, taking the total number of people held to five, including the three minors.
Police say main accused opened fire
Police said a team raided Nandan’s house after registering an FIR. When Nandan was located, he allegedly tried to escape and opened fire at the police team.Jamui SP Biswajeet Dayal said police retaliated, injuring Nandan in the leg. Hareram allegedly fractured his knee while trying to flee.“An SIT had been constituted to investigate the incident. Three minor boys were detained yesterday. Raids were on today for the remaining accused. When Nandan and his accomplice Hareram were spotted by a police team this morning, the former opened fire. He is undergoing treatment at a hospital along with Hareram, who fractured his knee while trying to flee the spot,” said the SP.The September 19 incident took place near Jamui’s border with neighbouring Lakhisarai. It came to light on Monday after video clips, apparently recorded by some of the accused, were circulated widely on social media.The teenage girl and a boy, who were reportedly studying at the same coaching centre, were allegedly stopped and harassed on a road. The video appeared to show the girl being assaulted and touched inappropriately by members of the group.The SP said the police action followed the circulation of the video because neither the girl nor her male friend had initially filed a complaint.DIG Munger Range Rakesh Kumar, who was camping in Jamui, told PTI over the phone: “The minor boys will be presented before the Juvenile Justice Board for further action.”Nandan and Hareram will face a normal trial, Kumar said. He added that further arrests could follow if their interrogation provided additional leads.
Probe into circulation of video
Police have also said those who circulated the video could face action.“The incident was horrifying, but equally appalling was the act of sharing the video clips on social media, in which the girl’s face could be seen clearly. Those responsible for circulating the video will also be booked under the IT Act,” said ADG Law and Order K Suhita Anupam, while talking to PTI Videos in Patna.
A political storm
The incident has also led to political storm, with leaders from several parties commenting on law and order and the safety of women in Bihar.Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, speaking in her parliamentary constituency Wayanad in Kerala, said: “There is no point in having big schemes and programmes when we cannot ensure that our women can be safe on the streets”.Her brother and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, had earlier described the incident as “deeply disturbing” and called for all the accused to be booked under the POCSO Act.RJD working president Tejashwi Yadav alleged that the incident was symbolic of a “collapse of law and order”. He also criticised JD(U) legislature party leader and minister Shrawon Kumar and the party’s state unit chief Umesh Singh Kushwaha over their use of the expression “chhit put ghatna” (stray incident).The BJP, meanwhile, claimed in a social media post that Nandan Yadav, who often wore a saffron “gamcha” and a red “tilak”, was “a devotee of Lalu Prasad”, the RJD’s founding president.Rohini Acharya, Prasad’s Singapore-based daughter, responded by referring to BJP leaders’ alleged support for perpetrators in cases including Kathua, Hathras and Bilkis Bano.BJP leader and Jamui MLA Shreyasi Singh also faced criticism after telling a news channel: “If moral policing is needed, it can be done in a decent way”.The Congress shared the statement on its social media handle, saying it reflected the “BJP’s patriarchal mindset”.Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor described the incident as ” horrifying and scary “.Kishor claimed that such incidents had been “on the rise” since the ascent to power of Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who he said had “criminal antecedents”.He also said the NDA had remained in power for more than two decades “not because of any good work but only because memories of the jungle raj during RJD’s rule are still fresh in the minds of the people of Bihar”.Union ministers Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’ and Jitan Ram Manjhi also referred to “jungle raj” while attacking the RJD.Lalan, a former state minister, claimed that before JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar became chief minister in 2005, women in Bihar “feared to step out of their houses after sunset”.Manjhi, who is also a former chief minister and heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha, wrote on X that the accused belonged to the Yadav caste, which he said was “numerically powerful” and “considered by Tejashwi Yadav as his brothers”.“Let Tejashwi Yadav rein in his brothers, else he will have to keep whining that his brethren were being targeted by Samrat Choudhary government which cares only for good governance”, added Manjhi.
