New Delhi: Loud Haryanavi and Bhojpuri music, bikes, cars, booze, female dancers and ‘caste pride’ abound on Nandan Yadav’s social media accounts. Videos of Nandan twirling his moustache while asserting Yadav supremacy present a larger-than-life image, one full of fearlessness and vitality.
That ‘machismo’ ended in a whimper Tuesday, when police traced Nandan hiding behind dense grass. A police encounter ensued in which a gunshot to the leg ended the run of the main accused in the Jamui molestation case.
Nandan was the man, face covered with a ‘gamcha’, seen in a video groping, lifting and harassing a 15-year-old girl in Bihar’s Jamui district. The harassment took place on the late evening of 19 September.
Along with Nandan, co-accused Hare Ram Yadav was also taken into custody. “They were found hiding behind the grass on the riverbed and fired at the police team. Police fired back in self-defence, injuring Nandan in the leg,” a police officer told ThePrint.
Videos later showed Nandan, with face wrapped, limping gingerly as he walked with the help of two policemen—a far cry from the macho image his social media accounts portrayed.
#WATCH | Jamui, Bihar: Nandan Yadav, the prime accused in the harassment of a minor girl in Jamui, has been shot in the leg during an encounter with the police. pic.twitter.com/odhctAsLPH
— ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2026
That said, the Facebook and Instagram accounts give an insight into the mind of the man whose vile acts triggered widespread derision, public outrage, and intense condemnation.
On 8 September, Nandan uploaded an Instagram reel from Madwa Hill, the same location where he and his associates threatened, molested, and assaulted the teenage girl and her friend.
In the video, he sat on a pillion, curling his moustache to background music and dialogues talking about “caste pride.”
An audio plays in the background: ‘Jahan matter bade hote han, vahan Yadav ji khade hote han (Wherever the trouble is big, Yadav ji is there to stand his ground)’ and ‘Sher ko jagana aur Yadav ko samjhana kisi ke bus ki baat nahin (Waking a lion and making a Yadav understand is beyond anyone’s control).’
The Instagram and Facebook accounts have videos with women stage dancers in Bihar, one of which shows Nandan and his friends surrounding a girl as she dances, recording her on their phones.
The music selection is deliberate. For instance, the viral local music Tuntun Yadav and Shilpi Raj’s ‘Hai Bihari Rangbaaz’ talks about alcohol, and women.
There’s Rajeev Yadav’s ‘Nawada Ke Hiyo Don’ and Amit Ashik’s ‘Pistaul’ in a clip that shows the 25-year-old lean man drinking alcohol and smoking with his friends, or by himself .
‘Jab mai ganje ke nashe me rehta hoon tab mujhe kuch farak nahi padta (When I’m high on weed, nothing matters),’ says audio in one video. Another has a voiceover saying that ‘you have not seen a real criminal, now you will see the real villain’.
In most of these videos, Yadav is seen in local restaurants, hair salons, or taking part in routine gatherings. The popular Haryanvi song ‘Bairi’, which glorifies double barrel guns and police, plays on in one such video.
Rebellion and bravado are the overriding themes in many of the videos. One such video, with the background audio: ‘Jail jaane se darr nahi lagta lala, bas maa baap ka chehre dekh kar shant baithe hain (I am holding back and staying calm only for my parents’ sake).’
In between living life, there are reels of religious events like Vishwakarma puja, or on themes like ‘Ram-Sita’.
The police said Nandan did irregular work driving tractors on rent and belonged to a low-income family.
Nandan and six others have been booked under Sections 74 (assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage modesty), 76 (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with intent to disrobe or compel her to be naked) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) as well as relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
In a sheer co-incidence, an Instagram clip shows Nandan outside a police station as he walks cheerfully to ride a motorbike.
A song plays in the background. ‘Badi din machaini hai sagro bawandar, kariyau encounter ki karbhi surrender. Sara adhikari milal, bujhai nai bhi ka? Vardi ke sara power jhoke ke dikha…. (You have created quite a storm all over the place for a long time now. Don’t all you officers get that? Put all the power of uniform..)’
Ironically, all that bravado ended with a police encounter.
(Edited by Tony Rai)