Rahul Gandhi called for the arrest of the perpetrators after a 30‑second clip, widely shared on social media, showed a male and a female student being surrounded and forcibly dragged by a mob on a main road in Jamui district on September 19, 2024. The footage, uploaded by a local resident, captures a man lifting the girl off the pavement while the boy tries to flee.
The Congress leader slammed the incident as a "nerve‑wreaking" violation of women’s safety, demanding that the state police file charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. He questioned why the accused were not in custody immediately after the video surfaced.
Senior Congress MP Pawan Khera added that the BJP is the "worst enemy of women", linking the incident to a broader pattern of gender‑based violence in a BJP‑ruled state. He urged the Union Home Minister and Prime Minister to enforce strict action against such offenders.
The Aam Aadmi Party, in a tweet, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of breaking his promise of "women's honor" while the BJP governed Bihar. Jan Suraaj Party leader Anup Maithil demanded that the accused be arrested within 24 hours or face mass protests.
Police records show that three men were arrested within 12 hours of the video’s circulation and are currently in custody. The BJP has yet to release a statement, prompting the opposition to call for a formal response from the Bihar government. The next step will be a press conference by the state Home Minister, expected within the week, to address the growing scrutiny.