34 School girls beaten up by a mob in Bihar , For Resisting Harassment
PATNA : Thirty-four girls were mercilessly beaten up by a mob in Bihar after they resisted the attempts of some local boys to sexually harass them. The mob had broken into their residential school, said the police, which arrested three persons allegedly involved in the attack. Hunt is on for the six others.
The girls — all of them 12 to 16 years old – were admitted to a local hospital and 22 of them have now been released, the police said. The matter had started yesterday as a clash between the girls and local boys at in Triveniganj, Saupaul district — 250 km from state capital Patna.
Some of the girls had caught a group of boys sneaking into the Kasturba Residential School, a government institution for girls, and asked them to leave. But when the boys refused and misbehaved, the girls then beat them up in self defence, said one of the eyewitnesses at the school.
After nearly two hours, around 5 pm, the boys returned with their parents and relatives and barged into the school, the police said, quoting one of the students.The mob surrounded the campus and targeted the frightened girls and their teachers. Locals said the school had no security system or guards.
In a complaint to the police, the school Principal said despite requests to remain calm, the mob beat up the students and teachers. Later, the injured girls had to be hospitalized. “We will not allow anyone to escape punishment as acts like this simply can’t be tolerated,” District magistrate Baidyanath Yadav said.
After the attack, opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav condemned the government in strongest terms. In a series of tweets, Tejashwi Yadav said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has “totally surrendered himself in the hands of goons & Deputy CM is begging mercy to hardened criminals”.
Another of his posts – a response to a tweet on the matter – read: “Because CM personally interferes to ensure that rapists & perpetrators gets a free run. In majority cases his party men, law makers and office bearers are the main culprits. If an honest officer tries to catch hold of them, He/she is transferred immediately.”(ndtv).
