Jamui: Two accused in the harassment of teens in Jamui, Bihar, were apprehended on Tuesday, September 22, following a police encounter in which both were injured, an official said.
With this, the total number of people held in connection with the September 19 incident has reached five.
Both accused hospitalised
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Munger Range, Rakesh Kumar said one of the accused, Nandan Yadav, received a bullet wound on a leg. His accomplice, Hareram Yadav, fractured his knee while trying to flee from police, which had been conducting raids to nab the culprits since Monday, September 21, he said.
“Both Nandan and Hareram have been hospitalised. Earlier, we had picked up three minors, who will be dealt with by the juvenile justice board”, the DIG told PTI over the phone from Jamui, where he has been camping since the incident came to light on Monday.
“We may pick up a few more people after interrogating Hareram and Nandan upon their recovery. From the video clip, it was not clear exactly how many persons were involved in the incident. However, we can safely say that the main accused have been caught. In fact, it was Hareram who was seen in the clip with his face wrapped in a scarf, leading the group,” he said.
The viral video
On Monday, September 21, a video went viral showing two teens, a boy and a girl, being harassed by a group of men on a roadside in Jamui district, triggering widespread public outrage.
Earlier, SP Dayal had told reporters that the incident took place on September 19 evening and a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by a woman officer, was conducting raids to arrest all the culprits.
“Although the incident is two days old, no complaint was made before us by the boy or the girl till Sunday. Today, when the video went viral, we traced the victims with the help of the registration number of a vehicle visible in the clip”, the SP told reporters.
The video, which purportedly shows the two being harassed by a group of people, has drawn criticism on social media as well as from political leaders.
Although the accused were not named in the first information report (FIR), police had identified at least seven perpetrators from the viral video. SP Dayal said the boy and the girl were friends and attended the same coaching institute, but declined to provide further details, wishing to keep “some information private”.
(With inputs from PTI)
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