New Delhi: Two orchestra dancer-sisters from Jharkhand were allegedly abducted, held captive, thrashed, and gang-raped by a group of men near Patna, including the man who had hired them to perform at a tilak ceremony last week.
It all began when the two sisters (23 and 20), who are from Jharkhand’s Latehar and have been living in Patna’s Mithapur in a rented house for the past six months, were booked for Rs 8,000 to perform at a Tilak ceremony on 18 June.
“There was a deal signed as well. We were picked up by Munna Kumar, who, along with other men, sexually assaulted us, beat us up as well,” the eldest woman told ThePrint. “We trusted the deal, thinking the money would help us and support our family.”
So far, Patna Police has arrested one man in connection with the case, and said a manhunt has been launched to arrest the remaining accused persons.
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The women and their ordeal
According to the elder woman, the two sisters have been living in Patna’s Mithapur in the house of a person called Vika Yadav. “Munna Kumar called us and told us there was a tilak ceremony on June 18. Both my sister and I were told to dance. A deal was made for Rs 8,000,” she told ThePrint.
On 18 June, Munna came to Mithapur on a scooter around 10 pm, and the two left with him, supposedly for the event. “After some time, on a deserted road, around 10-12 men came and started misbehaving with us. Abusing us,” the 23-year-old told ThePrint.
She alleged that Munna, his cousin Suraj Kumar, and the latter’s father Ram Lal Yadav, and 10 other men were involved in the incident.
The women said Munna Kumar and his cousin Suraj Kumar sexually assaulted them “for 4-5 hours”. They took the women to multiple locations in and around the same village. Every time the women attempted to run away, they were beaten up.
“When I shouted, they started threatening to kill me. Suraj even snatched my phone,” the eldest sister said.
दिनांक 19.06.26 को #नौबतपुर थानांतर्गत दो महिलाओं के साथ सामूहिक दुष्कर्म किए जाने संबंधी सूचना संज्ञान में आई है।
पुलिस टीम द्वारा तत्काल पीड़िताओं से संपर्क स्थापित कर बयान दर्ज कराया जा रहा हैं तथा उनका आवश्यक चिकित्सीय परीक्षण कराया जा रहा है। साथ ही, FSL टीम द्वारा घटनास्थल… pic.twitter.com/meDi7l4yYX
— Patna Police (@PatnaPolice24x7) June 19, 2026
Early in the morning, Suraj went to drop the two women off at Mithapur.
“We stayed quiet during the journey, and when we reached home, we began to shout. We called the entire neighbourhood to alert everybody. We told the neighbours what had happened. Seeing the villagers come, Suraj began to flee, but was caught by the villagers. They informed the police, and thereafter we reached the station,” the elder sister said.
The complainant’s younger brother told ThePrint the two women went to Bihar from Jharkhand around six months ago for work. They found the job through their network.
“Both my sisters are extremely scared after the incident. More so, because they have approached the police now. They fear that these men will attack them.”
Police action
A senior police Patna Police officer said they received information about the alleged gang-rape of two women in the Naubatpur police station area on 19 June.
“The police team immediately established contact with the victims and is recording their statements, as well as arranging for their necessary medical examination. At the same time, the FSL team has collected necessary scientific and physical evidence from the scene of the incident,” said the officer.
Suraj has been arrested.
The officer said that in view of the seriousness of the case, a special team has been constituted under the direction of a senior police officer, and further investigation has been initiated. The police are conducting a thorough investigation.
An unregulated industry
A senior police officer from Bihar, who primarily tracks human trafficking cases, told ThePrint that violence against female dancers and performers at the orchestra, a largely unregulated industry, has been rising.
“The industry is unregulated and wide. One major challenge is trafficking within this industry. A lot of women from the tribal belt are trafficked into the big cities of Bihar, where they work for meagre pay. There is no scope for complaints, and sometimes, they are the only earning members of their families. However, with our coordinated effort with NGOs and women and child commissions, we have deployed human intelligence across pockets of Bihar, where we keep track of trafficking cases,” the officer said.
The officer said travelling with orchestras makes the women and children prone to prostitution and sexual abuse.
“In most investigations, we found that parents are sometimes forced to send their daughters from backward areas to big cities. We have identified kingpins concentrated in certain areas, so we try to bridge that gap. They act as feeders for trafficking and bonded labour rackets,” she said.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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