2 women molested, video posted online

BAREILLY : A group of 14 men harassed and molested two women in Tanda area of Rampur district, a video of which was shot and posted online by one of the accused.

Police have arrested one of the accused, Shahnawaz Qadri, from Kuwan Kheda village of Tanda, where the incident took place while four search teams, supported by surveillance and intelligence units, are hunting for the others.

The three-minute-long video shows the men pushing and groping the two women on the roadside near a Poplar plantation. On at least two occasions, the men are seen pulling one of the women as the other woman tries to save her, saying, “Tumhare ghar main behen nahi hai kya (Don’t you have sisters)?”

The exact date and time of the incident is not clear, but the police have taken note of it and have identified the location and culprits. The police came to know about the incident after the video went viral on the social media. They are trying to locate the two women. “They might help us in identification of the accused,” said SP, Rampur, Nitin Tada. He added that a female police officer was heading the investigation team. An FIR was lodged under sections 354A (sexual harassment), 354B (assault or use of force on woman with intent to disrobe) of the IPC and relevant sections of IT Act against the accused.

“After identifying the location where the video was shot, our IT team alerted the Tanda police station,” Rampur SP said.

“We have arrested Shahnawaz Qadri. He was the one who first saw the girls and called his friends,” he added.

The district administration has also asked a magistrate to assist the police in investigation.

District magistrate, Rampur, SS Awasthi said, “It is a very sensitive issue and the administration will make sure that the perpetrators are arrested and put behind bars.”