A video purportedly showing a young woman being harassed by a group of youths at Bihar’s popular Mandar Hill tourist destination has gone viral on social media, days after similar incidents were reported in Jamui and Samastipur.
Police said they registered a case at Bounsi police station in Banka district after taking cognisance of the video, which was received through WhatsApp on September 22. The footage appears to have been recorded on June 3, and an investigation is underway.
According to the FIR, the woman had visited Mandar Hill with two friends when three youths allegedly abused and threatened them and behaved indecently with her. One of the accused, identified as Abdullah, allegedly obtained Rs 1,500 through an online transfer from one of the woman’s friends before allowing them to leave, police said.
The other accused were identified as Nitish Kumar Rai and Vikas Kumar. Police said raids were being conducted to arrest them.
A separate case has also been registered against those who allegedly circulated the purported video and attempted to reveal the woman’s identity.
The incident comes days after a teenage girl was allegedly harassed in Jamui following the circulation of a purported video. In Samastipur, police arrested one person after another video allegedly showing youths behaving indecently with a minor girl surfaced online.
Police said technical verification established that the Samastipur incident had occurred on August 14, 2025, near Latabasepura village. A case was registered under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act.
Four people were identified and one was arrested within five hours of the police receiving information.
Union minister Chirag Paswan described the incidents as “shameful” and said the government could not “run away from accountability”. He called for action against officials in whose jurisdictions such incidents occurred, arguing that the issue could not be addressed merely through arrests or encounters.
Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav alleged that the incidents in Mandar Hill, Jamui and Samastipur reflected a “collapse of law and order” in the state. He also questioned the progress of arrests in the three cases and alleged that the administration was influenced by the caste and social background of accused persons.
