Bareilly: Youths molest, grope 16-year-old girl sitting with boyfriend; 5 held

BAREILLY: Seven youths allegedly groped and molested a school girl, 16, and one of them filmed the assault over his mobile phone and later uploaded it on a social media platform in Sheeshgarh area of Bareilly. The alleged incident took place on September 21 and the video clip was uploaded on October 7, after which the girl and her family approached police and filed a case.
All the seven accused have been booked, police said, adding that the girl’s “boyfriend”, with whom she was sitting on a deserted spot when the assault took place, has also been booked as she is a minor.
In between the assault and the uploading of the video clip, the girl spent sleepless nights. According to her family members, she was skipping meals and was very restless. But she didn’t tell her family members about the incident as the accused had warned her against it. The girl also said that she had even attempted to end her life.
Police have now registered an FIR under IPC sections 354 (sexual assault on a girl to outrage her modesty), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) along with POCSO Act, against six identified and one unidentified person. The boyfriend of the girl has also been made an accused in the case and he has been arrested by police along with four other accused.
In the video shared by the girl’s father with police, the accused could be seen purportedly touching her abruptly and forcing her to show the face to the camera. The girl, all this while, is seen crying and asking them not to shoot the video.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Rohit Singh Sajwan told TOI, “Seven local youths molested her and even shot a video to harass her. The FIR was registered immediately after the family contacted us. We have arrested five accused. The boyfriend of the girl is also made an accused because the girl is a minor.”
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)