Begusarai, Sep 29 (PTI) A woman associated with the JEEViKA self-help group programme was allegedly raped at knifepoint in Begusarai district, days after cases of atrocities were reported from Jamui, Samastipur and Mandar Hills in Banka district.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav hit out at the government over the incidents, claiming an atmosphere of insecurity, injustice and oppression was prevailing in the state.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor alleged that the spate of “unending crimes” was a result of people voting an “uneducated person possessing a criminal mindset” to power.
Police said the survivor was collecting loan repayments from women associated with JEEViKA self-help groups in her locality around 7.30 am on Sunday when she encountered her neighbour Vikram Kumar Sahni, who allegedly tricked her into getting onto his motorcycle.
Sahni allegedly took her to near a cinema hall, from where another accused, Rohit Kumar, took her to a nearby hotel on the pretext of having a conversation, they said.
Rohit allegedly raped the woman at knifepoint, assaulted her and recorded the act on his mobile phone, police said in a statement.
The woman managed to escape from the hotel and returned home, where she narrated the incident to her family and subsequently lodged a police complaint.
The video of the rape was circulated via WhatsApp through the survivor’s mobile number, which was hacked. The account has now been blocked, police said.
While Sahni has been arrested, a search is underway for Rohit, they said, adding that the two accused are brothers-in-law.
Members of JEEViKA self-help groups, a flagship initiative of the Bihar government, receive assistance of Rs 10,000 to start small businesses, followed by loans and other support to expand their ventures.
Police said a case has been registered at the Nagar police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act.
The woman was sent for medical examination, and her statement was recorded before a magistrate, they said.
Police said a special investigation team has been constituted to probe the case.
The incident came to the fore days after cases of atrocities on women were reported from Jamui, Samastipur and Mandar hills.
In Jamui, a woman was allegedly harassed by a group of men when she was out with a friend, while in Samastipur, another woman was allegedly subjected to harassment. A video purportedly showing a young woman being harassed by a group of youths at the Mandar hills had also gone viral on social media.
Yadav, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, alleged that the law and order situation in the state has collapsed.
“In Bihar’s Begusarai, a young woman was subjected to such a heinous incident of rape and assault that is hard to put in words. The law and order situation in the state has collapsed. There is an atmosphere of insecurity, injustice and oppression everywhere because Bihar is now ruled by beasts, devils and demons,” he alleged in a social media post.
He alleged that the morale of criminals has been boosted in Bihar because of the “criminal character” and “casteist mindset” of Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is silent despite hearing the cries and screams of daughters so that he can come to Bihar during the elections and once again lament upon ‘jungle raj’. Have all six bullets of the PM’s favourite song, ‘marab sixer ke chhah goli chhati mein re’, already been fired?” the RJD leader quipped.
PM Modi had made a reference to the Bhojpuri song, which talks of firing six bullets in the chest, during campaigning for the 2025 assembly polls, attributing its violent lyrics to RJD’s image.
Kishor, the MLA of Bankipur, also criticised Choudhary for allegedly failing to contain “barbaric crimes” against women.
“The streak of barbaric crimes against women is continuing after the formation of the new government in the state. There seems to be no end to it,” he said.
Kishor attributed the alleged increase in crimes against women to the leadership of Choudhary.
“The reason behind these unending crimes is that people have voted an uneducated person possessing a criminal mindset to power. For the chief of a government who remains indifferent to rising crimes, it is meaningless to talk of crime-free Bihar,” he alleged.
He said the developments should prompt those who voted on caste and religious lines, out of fear of Lalu Prasad’s alleged “jungle raj”, or in response to PM Modi’s appeal, to reconsider their choices.
“The chief minister of Bihar talks of half-encounter, full encounter and targeting people on the basis of the colour of their ‘gamchhas’ (a signifier of caste). How can one expect law and order in a state whose chief ignores the rule of law,” he asked. PTI SUK CORR SOM
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