New Delhi: While many in the country are expressing their solidarity with women who are speaking up against sexual harassment, in Bihar’s Patna, school girls were beaten up for standing up to boys who targeted them.

Over 30 girls in the age group of 10-14, all students of Kasturba Gandhi Residential School, were attacked by a mob in Supaul district on Saturday. A report in the Hindu said that the girls were harassed by boys from the neighbouring village, who reportedly passed vulgar comments and wrote obscene words on the school compound. The girls even complained to the school administration about the incident.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the girls had beaten up some boys for “sexually harassing them and passing lewd comments”. The mob (which also consisted of the parents of the boys) then assaulted the girls near their school. They reportedly brought lathis along with them and assaulted the teachers when they tried to step in. The girls have been admitted to the primary health care centre.

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“The girls were kicked and beaten up with sticks”, Reema Raj, school warden, told the Hindu.

Locals and ABVP workers carried out a protest against the attack on the girls on Triveniganj roads. They blocked a national highway, which disrupted traffic for several hours.

Bihar: At least 30 schoolgirls of a govt school in Supaul were thrashed by miscreants for allegedly resisting sexual advances. They’re admitted to hospital. SDM Triveniganj says ‘FIR registered.Accused will be arrested soon. Action will be taken against school after reports come’ pic.twitter.com/glsxpsAWze — ANI (@ANI) October 7, 2018



The protesters blocked a national highway and disrupted vehicular traffic for about three hours. The protestors cleared only after Baidyanath Yadav, district magistrate of Supaul assured them that the accused would be arrested: “Action will be taken against all those found involved in the attack on the girls.”