Two Class 10 students, a girl and a boy, returning from a coaching class, were allegedly groped and harassed by a group of men in Bihar’s Jamui district on Saturday (September 19, 2026). A video of the incident went viral on social media on Monday (September 21, 2026), prodding the police to register an FIR and arrest three people.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders said the incident was “deeply disturbing”, indicative of patriarchal attitudes among supporters of the ruling BJP, and exposing the State’s law-and-order situation.

The National Commission for Women on Monday (September 21, 2026) took suo motu cognisance of the alleged assault and harassment, and directed the Director General of Police to immediately file an FIR in the matter. The State Commission for Women also took suo motu cognisance of the incident, and promised that strict action would be taken against those found guilty.

Three arrested so far

“There was no formal complaint registered by anyone against anyone in the incident,” said Jamui Superintendent of Police Vishwajit Dayal. “The police took suo motu cognisance of the incident and approached the victim girl and her friend, a boy. Both were returning from a hillside area after their coaching was over on the Jamui-Lakhisarai road where a group of six to seven people, some even masked, stopped them as it is shown in the viral video and they were being harassed on September 19 evening at around 7 p.m.,” he added.

An FIR (No 428/ 2026) was lodged in the incident at Jamui police station. All the people seen in the viral video were taken into custody and three of them have been arrested. “The police will soon arrest all of those found involved in this unfortunate incident,” Mr. Dayal said.

Register FIR, stop sharing video: NCW

“Any compromise on the dignity, safety, and privacy of women is unacceptable at any level,” said the NCW. The Commission’s chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar wrote to the Bihar DGP, directing him to immediately register an FIR in the incident. The NCW also directed that security, legal assistance, and psychological counselling be provided to the victims, seeking a detailed Action Taken Report in the matter. All necessary legal action should also be taken to stop further sharing of the objectionable video being circulated on social media, the NCW directed.

The Bihar State Commission for Women also took suo motu cognisance of the incident. “I’ve spoken to the Jamui officials, and they detailed to me about the incident as it happened on September 19 evening at 7 p.m. Stern action will be taken against all those found involved in this incident by people having a weird mindset. The Bihar State Commission for Women stands with all such hapless women,” Commission chairperson Apsara said.

‘When control is mistaken for culture’

“The video from Jamui is deeply disturbing,” Mr. Gandhi said in a social media post. “Two class 10 students were stopped on a road. Harassed. Humiliated. Molested. A young girl’s hands folded, begged to be let go while goons groped her and dragged her away. This is not ‘culture’. It is patriarchy: the belief that any man can police a girl’s body, her movement, her choice… When control is mistaken for culture, and such attitudes are normalised by ‘Andhbhakts’, mobs start believing they are the law,” he added.

Demanding prosecution of the culprits under the POCSO Act, Mr. Gandhi, who is also Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha asked, “Who gave these men the right to behave like this? The Bihar government must answer why a girl is not safe on a public road at 7 p.m.?”

Recalling the Jamui and Delhi rape and murder incidents, the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge too demanded the “harshest punishment for culprits, and accountability from State governments”. Such incidents, he said, “scream to expose the lies and hypocrisy of the BJP’s ‘Nari Shakti Vandan’ and ‘Beti Bachao’ schemes”, meant to empower women.

‘Extremely shameful’

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, also slammed the State government in a social media post.

“Bihar has been shamed by the BJP-NDA government. Everyone is ashamed. On the Jamui incident, the government’s people are making low-level statements… When the Jamui incident happened, [Bihar Chief Minister] Samrat Choudhary was holding a caste conference,” he noted.

His Singapore-based sister Rohini Acharya said: “The incident in Jamui is extremely shameful and expresses the dire state of law and order under the Samrat government, along with lax administrative influence and the stark reality of policing.” She alleged that the “sisters and daughters of the State are entirely unsafe”.

RJD leader and former MLA Shakti Singh Yadav said, “The law and order situation has completely collapsed in the State, but the government keeps drum beating that women in Bihar today can safely travel even at midnight.”

‘Guilty will be behind bars soon’

State Rural Works Minister Sunil Kumar, said that he too has spoken to the Jamui Superintendent of Police and got all the details about the incident. “All those people allegedly involved into the incident would be behind bars very soon… The Jamui incident even was raked up at the government level,” said Mr. Kumar, who has earlier been a senior police official in the State.

His State Cabinet colleague and Bihar Sports Minister Shreyasi Singh is the BJP MLA from Jamui. “Victims had not filed the FIR, police did it after the viral video and three people have been arrested, the rest too will be arrested…I’m satisfied with the administrative action and hope they will continue to do so.”