16-year-old dragged, molested by young men in Jhansi, 1 arrested after video goes viral

Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi district have arrested one of the three men for allegedly molesting a 16-year-old girl after the video of the incident recorded by them surfaced on social media, a senior official said on Tuesday, the latest in a string of similar crimes reported from the state.

Jhansi’s superintendent of police Kuldeep Narain confirmed the incident and said the main accused was arrested on Monday night. Narain added that they are on a lookout for the other two.

The incident took place on July 12 following which a case was registered in Chirgaon police station in Jhansi under several sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

“The police became active as soon as it saw the video, where a girl was taken to a secluded area on a bike. The girl was then harassed there,” Narain said.

Reports said the girl was offered a lift by a friend on a motorcycle as she on her way to give food to her mother working in a field. They were stopped by a group of men - including minors - while passing through a forested area, reports added.

The girl and the men belong to the same village about 40 kilometres from Jhansi town, according to reports.

The accused can be seen dragging the girl and molesting her while she is shouting for help in the video. She is also heard asking the molesters not to shoot the video.

Earlier this month, three men were arrested in the state’s Birgunj for molesting a girl after the video of the act went viral.

And on July 6, three others were arrested for allegedly abducting and molesting a woman in Unnao. The matter came to the police’s attention after a six-day-old video of the incident went viral on the social media.

(With ANI inputs)