Jamui/Patna: Two accused in the harassment of a boy and a girl in Bihar's Jamui district were arrested by police on Tuesday following an 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.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, 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.
"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 girl and the boy, who were said to be studying at the same coaching centre, were caught hold of by the group on a road and allegedly harassed. Video clips circulating on social media purportedly showed the girl being groped.
Although the victims did not lodge a police complaint, the incident came to light on Monday when clips of the incident, apparently shot by one of the alleged perpetrators, went viral on social media.
As the viral video sparked outrage from netizens as well as political opponents of the ruling NDA in the state, police took suo motu cognisance of the matter, traced the victims and formed a Special Investigating Team.
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.