Bihar Minister Ashok Choudhary defends administration; vows swift action following alleged assault case in Samastipur

Bihar Minister Ashok Choudhary said, "Those who carried out such an incident should be immediately arrested, and the rule of law must be established."

Following the alleged assault of a woman in Samastipur just days after the Jamui incident, Bihar Minister Ashok Choudhary on Thursday defended the state's response, emphasising swift administrative action. Reacting to allegations concerning recent criminal incidents, including an alleged molestation case in Samastipur and a shooting in Patna, Bihar Minister Ashok Choudhary defended the state's response, emphasising swift administrative action.

Addressing the Samastipur incident, Choudhary told reporters, "Whoever those people were, the district administration has swiftly taken action and arrested everyone." The Bihar Minister condemned the violence while expressing confidence in law enforcement and stated that if anyone tries to take the law into their own hands, the strictest possible action will be taken against them.

"The firing incident (in Patna) is unfortunate. But those who carried out such an incident should be immediately arrested, and the rule of law must be established. Whether the person is affiliated with any party or whoever they may be, if anyone tries to take the law into their own hands, the strictest possible action must be taken against them, and we have full faith in the police administration that the rule of law will be established, and action will be taken in Patna immediately against those who carried out this incident as well," Ashok Choudhary told ANI. Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly Tejashwi Yadav accused the government of failing to maintain public order.

"After Jamui, a video from Samastipur is going viral.. This is condemnable. But there is BJP rule here. For the first time, there is BJP CM here. Law and order has been laid to rest... Hundreds of crimes are happening in Bihar. Just yesterday, a public representative was shot in Patna city.” Directly targeting the political leadership amid the escalating security row, the Yadav added, “When a criminal figure himself becomes Chief Minister, then such situation emerges... Such serious cases are emerging in Bihar. What is your administration and police doing? Bihar is being shamed across the entire country."

While the authenticity of the viral video from Samastipur has not been independently verified, the law enforcement authorities took swift action and arrested the four suspects following the widespread circulation of the footage. Earlier, a purported video from Jamui showcased the alleged harassment and assault of the two minors. After surfacing on social media, it led to public outrage and political reactions.

In the Jamui case, the police have also taken action against social media accounts circulating the video, with an FIR reportedly registered against around 120 profiles for sharing footage that could reveal the identity of the minor. The officials have arrested Kundan Kumar, Faiyaz and Ramashish Kumar. Jamui Police has appealed to people not to share any offensive or revealing videos/posts of minor victims on social media. (ANI)