As harassment cases pile pressure, BJP MP flags ‘collapsed’ policing in Bihar
As Bihar’s Samrat Choudhary government tries to fend off the Opposition’s attempt to back it into a corner over the spate of sexual harassment cases in the state, it’s now facing criticism from an unlikely quarter — within its own ranks. On Saturday, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Shambhu Sharan Patel targeted the government over “deteriorating law-and-order”, adding to the pressure on the ruling alliance.
“Bihar mein policing charmara gayi hai (*policing in Bihar has collapsed),” Patel told reporters, demanding a new chief secretary and director general of police (DGP) to regain control over the state’s law and order. “We need a new chief secretary and director general of police in the state. We must thoroughly overhaul the law-and-order situation. Criminals no longer fear the law.”
Recounting a recent personal experience with the state police, the BJP MP added: “I called the Patna administration following an incident involving a girl, but the SSP did not pick up my call. No FIR has been registered in the case so far. What more can I say? My hands are tied as part of the ruling party, but the public gave us a mandate to deliver good governance and keep law and order intact. It is shameful whenever an atrocity happens to any daughter. I have no hesitation in saying that policing has collapsed in the state.”
Patel’s remarks come as a spate of sexual harassment cases has backed the state’s administration — and Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary — into a corner. Choudhary also handles the state’s home portfolio, with the Opposition now piling on pressure for action. This comes at a time when another video of sexual harassment surfaced in Samastipur, prompting the principal Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal to demand “accountability”.
In a post on X, Tejashwi posted a video of what he claimed was the third incident of harassment from Samastipur, the Assembly constituency of Vijay Kumar Chaudhary.
In his post, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, without naming the chief minister, called him “inept”, saying: “If watching this video doesn’t break your heart, then your empathy and humanity have already died. Imagine if this were your sister or daughter? NDA’s shameless ministers will dismiss it as an isolated incident, call it respectable moral policing, hunt for the accused’s caste to trivialise such a sensitive case, or take you back to 2005 when neither the criminal nor the victim had even been born. No accountability is fixed for the administration and police—where there are more crimes, that’s where the most powerful officers are”.
Growing pressure
The developments came amid a series of videos involving alleged harassment of girls that have surfaced across Bihar over the past week, keeping police in several districts on their toes.
Earlier this week, a video showed youths surrounding and allegedly harassing two teenage students in a hilly area on the outskirts of Jamui. Police subsequently apprehended three juveniles and arrested two people, identified as Nandan Yadav and Hareram Yadav. Police said Nandan was shot in the leg while resisting arrest.
The incident and its aftermath became a political flashpoint, with the Opposition seeking to corner the NDA government over law and order.
Before the issue could die down, another video showed a girl allegedly being harassed, pulled by her hair and subjected to abusive remarks by a group of youths on a bypass road in Samastipur in broad daylight. The four accused were subsequently sent to judicial custody after their arrest, following registration of an FIR under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology Act.
A third video, also from Samastipur, showed some people allegedly harassing a girl on a road under Musrigharari police station. The purported video, reportedly from August 14, led to four people being identified and one person, Dharmendra Sahni, being arrested. Police said the arrest was made within five hours of receiving information, with the suspects booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Information Technology Act.
Another video from Banka showed some people harassing and assaulting a girl at the historic Mandar Hill tourist site. Police later said the incident had actually taken place on June 3 and that they had identified three suspects working as migrant labourers outside Bihar.
The cases have also increased pressure on the government over the CMO’s handling of the Jamui case. On Saturday, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav demanded that the state police register an FIR against the chief minister’s office after a post on the official CMO handle containing a photograph of the sexual harassment victim from Jamui.
On Friday, RJD Pataliputra MP Misa Bharti lodged a complaint at the Sachivalaya police station against the CMO staff over the issue.
“Posting the photograph of the Jamui girl from the official CMO handle warrants an FIR against the CM. Under the law, neither the PM nor the CM is above accountability. Just as multiple individuals are facing charges in the Jamui case, the CM should also be booked under POCSO for disclosing the victim’s identity,” the post said.
BJP sources, however, insisted that the state had intensified its crackdown on such social media posts. “The CM has also urged people to stay away from online reels and focus on real-life issues,” one leader said.
