14 men molest two girls, post video; one arrested

Lucknow: A footage showing a group of about 14 men molesting and groping two women near a village in Tanda, Rampur has emerged, and the main accused has been arrested. The police say they are looking for the rest of the people involved in the matter.

The accused apparently filmed the incident on their mobile phones and posted the video on social media. Police sources said they were not clear when the video was shot but have registered a case in the matter.

“We have identified the main accused Shahnawaz from the video and have arrested him. He is being interrogated and the rest of the accused will be arrested soon,” said Vipin Tada, SP Rampur.

The home department spokesman later disclosed that some more of the accused persons had been identified as Nawed, Farmaan, Jahane Alam and Saddam. They are all residents of Kuwakhera village.

In the video clip, the men can be seen blocking the way of two girls on a narrow road. The men are on their motorbikes and there are trees all around. They can be seen groping, dragging, pushing, pulling and abusing the women. The women’s wails and screams can also be heard in the video as they plead with their molesters to let them go.

Senior SP MLA Mohd Azam Khan from Rampur told reporters that women and girls would have to remain indoors to ensure their safety because the Yogi Adityanath government could not offer protection even in broad daylight.

One of the first decisions that the Yogi Adityanath government took after coming to power was the setting up of Anti-Romeo Squads to check incidents of eve-teasing. However, the Anti-Romeo Squads made news for all the wrong reasons and cops were caught on camera publicly shaming young couples seen together. Director general of police Sulkhan Singh had then issued a list of dos and don’ts to the police force after which the campaign got subdued.