Patna
oi-Swastika Sruti
The alleged harassment of a minor girl and her friend in Bihar’s Jamui has moved beyond a police case and become a political test for Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary. A year-old video of Chaudhary, then speaking on women’s safety, has resurfaced after the Jamui video went viral, giving the opposition a sharp line of attack.
An alleged harassment incident involving minors in Jamui, Bihar has led to political scrutiny, as CM Samrat Chaudhary’s 2025 promise to resign over women’s safety issues resurfaced amid police investigations and opposition criticism.
In the old clip, dated September 29, 2025, Chaudhary is heard saying that if anyone even touched a woman at night in Bihar, he would resign the next morning. The remark was made as a claim of accountability on law and order. It is now being circulated widely with questions over whether he still stands by that statement.
What happened in the Bihar Jamui case
The case relates to an incident reported on September 19 in Jamui, where a minor schoolgirl and her male friend were allegedly surrounded, harassed and assaulted by a group of youths while returning from coaching. A video of the incident later surfaced on social media, triggering public anger and political reactions across Bihar.
Police have arrested three accused so far. Around seven persons are reported to have been identified with the help of the viral video. A Special Investigation Team has also been formed to investigate the case. Police have registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and other relevant legal provisions.
Officials have also warned against circulating the video, especially if it reveals the identity or face of the minors. Under Indian law, disclosing the identity of a child victim in such cases can invite action. Police have begun proceedings against social media accounts accused of spreading the clip.
Why Samrat Chaudhary’s old statement is back in focus
The resurfaced video has given the Jamui case a second political layer. Social media users have linked Chaudhary’s 2025 statement with the present incident and asked whether the chief minister will act on his own words. Several posts have framed the issue as a question of moral responsibility, not only police action.
The opposition has seized on that point. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav has accused the government of failing to make girls feel safe in Bihar. He has questioned the state’s policing and alleged that victims are not getting the institutional support they need.
Yadav has also reminded Chaudhary of the old resignation remark. His argument is political but direct: if the chief minister once tied women’s safety to personal accountability, then a public answer is now due. The demand comes at a time when crimes against women remain an emotionally charged issue in Bihar politics.
There has been no official indication so far that Chaudhary intends to resign. The government’s response has focused on the police case, arrests and the formation of the SIT. The administration has described the incident as serious and pointed to the action already taken by Jamui police.
Police action and legal process ahead
The immediate course of the Jamui case will depend on the investigation, identification of all accused and the evidence gathered from the video, witness statements and digital material. Since the alleged victims are minors, the case will be handled under stricter legal safeguards, including provisions meant to protect child victims.
The circulation of the video has created a separate legal concern. In many such cases, public outrage is driven by visual evidence, but sharing such clips can harm victims further. Police action against accounts spreading the video is likely to be framed around privacy, child protection and the disclosure of identity.
The case also raises a familiar governance question in Bihar: whether swift arrests are enough to address public concern. For the government, the challenge is not only to ensure prosecution but also to show that the victims are protected, the investigation is credible and the case is not allowed to fade after the initial outrage.
Old allegations against Chaudhary resurface
Amid the political exchange, older allegations against Samrat Chaudhary have also been revived. Tejashwi Yadav’s remarks referred to past claims involving Chaudhary and a case linked to the killing of seven people. Similar allegations had earlier been raised in political discourse, including by Prashant Kishor in 2025.
Chaudhary has denied those allegations in the past and described them as politically motivated. His 2025 election affidavit reportedly mentioned several criminal cases against him, but did not list seven murder cases. The renewed reference shows how the Jamui incident has widened into a broader attack on his public image and political record.
For now, the central issue remains the Jamui investigation and the state’s response to the alleged harassment of two minors. The viral video has forced police action, while the resurfaced resignation remark has turned the case into a question of political accountability. The next test will be whether the investigation moves quickly and transparently.
