Manipur returns: Bihar Dalit girl filmed naked, assaulted by vigilantes

Manipur returns: Bihar Dalit girl filmed naked, assaulted by vigilantes

BEGUSARAI: Even as India fumes over the Manipur viral video showing naked women being paraded in riot-hit Manipur, a group of villagers tore off the clothes of a minor Dalit girl, assaulted her, and filmed her without clothes after they caught her with a music teacher in Teghra area of Bihar’s Begusarai.

The minor girl was caught in a compromising position with her music teacher in his room at Pakthaul village by a group of local vigilantes who suspected an illicit affair between them. The victim and her 50-year-old music teacher Kishan Dev Chaurasia live in the same neighbourhood.

Chaurasia plays harmonium and signs folk songs at local programs for a living and teaches children at his residence. As per locals, the girl would often visit her master’s residence, even at night, on the pretext of learning harmonium.

On the night of July 20, she left her home telling her parents that she would practice harmonium under Chaurasia’s supervision. The vigilantes, who had been keeping track of the movement of the teacher-student duo for some time, followed her and waited patiently.

A scary image of the minor girl getting stripped by the vigilantes 

Suddenly, they stormed Chaurasia’s room and caught them in a compromising position. Fuming with anger, they started beating the two, used expletives, dragged the girl around the room, and tore off her clothes when she was trying to dress up. The accused filmed the entire attack and later posted it on social media which has gone viral.

After the viral came to their attention, local police said that they have launched an investigation and will register a case based on the girl’s statement.

Attackers dragged the minor girl by her hair  

In her complaint, the girl accused her teacher of raping her and named the attackers. Consequently, the police registered a case under sections related to rape, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, physical assault, and the IT Act against Chaurasia and the three attackers.

The music teacher has been arrested while the police are yet to arrest the attackers. Locals believe the girl named the music teacher under pressure from family members.

The incident, which comes close on the heels of an incident wherein a thousand-strong mob sexually assaulted two tribal women and paraded them naked in Manipur, has evoked intense political backlash against the Nitish Kumar government over the law and order situation. BJP leaders have called for immediate action. They have also questioned the police administration’s efficacy and demanded answers from CM Nitish Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi Yadav.