Another gang-rape video viral

Patna: Yet another video showing the gangrape of a 12-year-old girl from Bhojpur district went viral on social media on Wednesday, prompting the police to initiate action against the alleged tormenters on Thursday.

Though the incident took place on Monday afternoon, when the girl had gone to attend the call of nature, the matter came to the fore when a youth uploaded the video of the gangrape on social media on Wednesday. The girl’s family then formally lodged a complaint with the Chandi police station in Bhojpur district, around 60km west of Patna.

Bhojpur superintendent of police (SP) Awakash Kumar said the girl was sent to the Ara sadar hospital for medical examination after her statement was recorded before a judicial magistrate under Section 164 of CrPC. “The accused, whose identity had already been ascertained, will be arrested soon,” he said.

The girl told the court that six youths picked her up when she had gone to attend to nature’s call at night and subsequently raped her. When she shouted for help, the accused threatened her with dire consequences and also asked her not to tell anybody about the incident.

“I couldn’t reveal the matter to the police as I feared a threat to my life and that of my family members. They had also threatened to release the video if I reported the incident either to my family or to the police. So I decided to keep quiet,” she told the police.

But the incident snowballed into a controversy on Wednesday, when the video of the gang-rape was uploaded on a social networking site by one of the friends of the tormenters. Family members then confronted the girl about the incident and she confirmed the six youths had raped her.

The girl told the police that the accused were 18-23 years of age. “The accused are absconding. They will be nabbed soon,” Chandi police station house officer (SHO) Dhananjay Kumar Singh said.

Sources in the state police headquarters said at least three cases of rang-rape and one related to attempt to rape came to the fore after the videos went viral on social media.

“The disconcerting trend of making such videos viral on social networking sites has alarmed senior policemen at the headquarters,” an IPS officer said.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the officer said cases of rape were being reviewed by officials posted at the police headquarters and instructions were being given to superintendents of police (SPs) to check such trends. “Easy access to pornographic films and video clips on cellphones are one of the reasons behind rise in such rape incidents in the state,” he said.

The police got to know about two gangrape incidents in Jehanabad district only after their videos went viral on social media. An attempt to rape case in Masaurhi also came to the fore after a video of the incident was uploaded on social sites.

Courtesy: The Telegraph