Viral video of molestation in Bihar’s Saran used to target Nitish-Tejashwi is from 2021 when NDA was in power

The story uses only screenshots and not actual tweets in view of the graphic nature of the viral video.

A video of a woman being molested while she is seated on the back of a motorcycle is doing the rounds on social media. Men are seen tugging on her clothes, verbally abusing and groping her. Sharing this video, JP leaders and Right Wing users have been taking aim at Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, calling it an example of ‘Jungle Raj’ or lawlessness in Bihar.

While targeting Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav and Bihar forest and environment minister Tej Pratap Yadav, BJP MLA Krishan Gehlot from Delhi’s Uttam Nagar, too, remarked that there was ‘Jungle Raj’ in Bihar. (Archived link)

A user named Sarvesh Kumar also shared the video lamenting the state of Bihar under the rule of Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav. “It is difficult to say what will happen here and when. There is Jungle Raj in Bihar”, he added.

Right wing handle @MrSinha_ quote-tweeted the post and wrote that a helpless woman was being molested by goons. Both Kumar and the user later deleted their tweets.

Quoting Sarvesh Kumar’s tweet, a user named Pooja Hindustani wrote, “Now what can be more shameful than this where a woman sitting on a moving bike is being treated indecently in this manner. These goons are molesting her, if this is not ‘Jungle Raj’, then what is? Tejashwi Yadav and Chacha Kumar are only looking at Manipur, why are they silent over this incident in Bihar?” (Archived link)

Several other social media users, including BJP leader Subhash Vajpayee, shared the video with the same claim.

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Fact Check

Alt News performed a keyword search along with a reverse image search using a frame taken from the viral video. This led us to an article dated October 6, 2021 by Dainik Bhaskar. According to this article, this incident occurred in Saran, Bihar, where a woman was molested on the road by a group of six miscreants. Taking cognizance of the video, Saran Police identified the six accused out of which four were arrested on October 6, 2021. Reports covering this incident can also be found in the Hindustan Times and Navbharat Times. In other words, this video is two-year old.

It is worth noting that there was a change in the ruling government in Bihar in August 2022, in which Nitish Kumar’s JDU and Tejashwi Yadav’s RJD and other parties together formed a coalition government. Earlier, the NDA government was in power in Bihar, in which the BJP had a majority stake.

The Saran district administration issued a press release on October 6, 2021 revealing that the six accused had been identified within eight hours of receiving the information about the viral video. Four of the assailants (Rakesh, Arvind, Nitish, Amod) were arrested while the search was underway for the remaining two (Guddu, Dharmendra). This information was also released via the official handle of the Bihar Police.

सारण पुलिस द्वारा वायरल वीडियो की सूचना प्राप्त होने के 8 घंटे के अंदर घटनास्थल का सत्यापन कर सभी 6 अभियुक्तों की पहचान कर ली गई है।वायरल वीडियो में शामिल 4 अभियुक्तों को गिरफ्तार कर लिया गया है,शेष अभियुक्तों की गिरफ्तारी शीघ्र ही संभावित है।@nildeoreIAS pic.twitter.com/OEJ3nWPgrL

— DISTRICT ADMlNISTRATION SARAN (@Saran_dm) October 6, 2021

An article by the Hindustan Times dated October 11, 2021 also quoted the superintendent of police of Saran stating that in the late hours of October 10, police had arrested the main accused, Guddu Rai, from his hideout and also recovered the mobile phone used in the crime.

To sum it up, BJP leaders and Right Wing social media users shared a two-year-old video from Bihar targeting Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav. In reality, the incident took place in 2021, when the NDA government was in power in the state.