Meerut : In an incident similar to the assault and molestation of a minor girl by hoodlums in Jamui area of Bihar, three men were arrested for assaulting a couple, molesting and stripping the woman, filming the attack and robbing them of Rs 1,500 near Siddhbarolia temple in a forested area of Saraiberolia village in Budaun.
The incident occurred on Sept 17 but came to light on Thursday after the accused uploaded a video of the assault on social media. They also threatened to circulate the video online and snatched Rs 1,500 from the couple before fleeing when passersby arrived around half an hour later, police said. Based on their statements, an FIR was registered under relevant sections, including BNS 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 75 (sexual harassment) and 76 (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with intent to disrobe), along with section 67 of the Information Technology Act. The case bears similarities to the Sept 19 incident in Jamui, where a group of men stopped two Class 10 students returning from Madwa Pahad, assaulted them and molested the girl while filming the attack. Jamui cyber police also registered an FIR against around 120 social media profiles for circulating the video and revealing the minor victim’s identity.
Budaun SSP Ankita Sharma said police took suo motu cognisance and began an investigation. They will be arrested soon,” the SSP said. The accused abused and assaulted the two, molested and disrobed the woman and filmed the attack. The victims, both unemployed, did not initially approach police, fearing social stigma. After the video surfaced online, police traced them using the motorcycle’s registration number. Sugendra, Bechain and Chhote were later arrested from Saraiberolia forest. They were produced before a court and sent to judicial custody. “The case was cracked based on the video evidence. A search for Jeetesh and the unidentified accused is on. Five of the seven accused identified by police were subsequently arrested.