A horrific assault on two underage school students in India’s northern Bihar state has ignited widespread public fury across the country, after graphic footage of the attack circulated widely on social media platforms.
According to local law enforcement, the incident unfolded around 7:00 PM local time on Saturday, September 19, in Jamui district. The two victims — a 10th-grade girl and her male classmate, both minors who attend the same local coaching institute — had traveled to the area after classes to take photos when they were accosted by a group of men.
The circulating video shows the pair surrounded by the group, repeatedly begging to be allowed to leave. The male student is repeatedly slapped, grabbed by the collar and beaten, while the female victim is sexually groped and in a separate clip carried away against her will, as her injured friend tries and fails to intervene. The attack did not come to official attention until Monday, when the footage went viral online. Police ultimately traced the victims via a vehicle license plate visible in the video, after the pair had not initially filed a report. A formal case was opened once the victim submitted a written complaint.
The case has been registered under India’s Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, a stringent law designed to penalize sexual violence against minors. Additional charges have been filed under Indian penal code sections covering sexual assault, forced disrobing, and conspiracy to commit a crime. As of the latest updates, three of the accused, all minors, have been taken into custody. Authorities have confirmed that two more suspects are still at large, and a special investigation team has been formed to track down the remaining perpetrators. Police have also taken action against 32 social media accounts that continued to share the identifiable footage of the victims, in violation of privacy protections for child victims.
The brutal nature of the attack, amplified by the viral spread of the video, has triggered a national wave of anger over persistent risks to women and girls in Bihar, and reignited long-simmering debates about the state government’s failure to address gender-based violence. Outrage grew even louder after senior Bihar government minister Shravan Kumar dismissed the attack as a “sporadic incident” that “keep happening,” adding that the government was monitoring such cases. “The world is not entirely free of crime,” Kumar said, though he also pledged that all perpetrators would face legal consequences.
Umesh Kushwaha, a leader of the ruling Janata Dal (United) party, also faced widespread backlash after he similarly framed the attack as an “isolated incident” and sought to contrast the current government’s record with that of the previous RJD-led administration. Kushwaha later walked back his comments, claiming his remarks had been “distorted and misrepresented” and reaffirmed a commitment to holding attackers accountable.
Local and national political leaders have weighed in heavily on the case. Shreyasi Singh, a Bihar legislator and state minister from Jamui, told Indian broadcaster NDTV that the assault had “brought shame to society.” Singh, a former international competitive shooter, noted that while women in Bihar have made progress across many sectors, fears for their personal safety remain a pervasive crisis. She called for immediate arrest of all remaining suspects and harsh punishment for all those involved.
Opposition leaders have seized on the incident to criticize the ruling coalition’s track record on women’s safety and law and order. Rahul Gandhi, senior leader of India’s national main opposition Congress party, called the video “deeply disturbing” and said the attack exposed a deep-rooted patriarchal mindset that “men could police a girl’s body, movements and choices.” Gandhi wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that “This is not culture. It is patriarchy.”
Tejashwi Yadav, leader of the opposition in Bihar’s state legislative assembly, said the incident left him “deeply ashamed” and accused the state government of failing to fulfill its core responsibility of keeping women and girls safe. Ruling coalition officials have rejected the broader criticism of their law and order record and have repeatedly promised that all perpetrators will face strict legal action.
India’s National Commission for Women has stepped in to oversee the case, calling for the immediate arrest of all involved parties and a full, impartial investigation. The commission has requested an official report from Bihar police and has urged authorities to stop further spread of the video to protect the victim’s identity and privacy, a request echoed by the Bihar State Women’s Commission, which has also requested updates from district officials on the progress of the investigation.
Across social media, users have expressed horror at the attack, with many condemning the incident as a violent example of unregulated “moral policing” targeting young people interacting outside of conservative social norms. Thousands of users have tagged state police and official accounts, demanding swift and harsh punishment for the accused.