Rampur molestation case: The shocking footage aired by the channel showed the men accosting the victims on an isolated road. (Source: ANI) Rampur molestation case: The shocking footage aired by the channel showed the men accosting the victims on an isolated road. (Source: ANI)

In a brazen act of sexual harassment, around 14 men molested two women in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur district and posted the video on social media. The main accused has been arrested and the police are searching for the rest. “We have identified the men involved. The main accused has been arrested. We are interrogating him and based on what he says the rest will also be nabbed. We filed an FIR after the videos went viral on social media,” Vipin Tada, Superintendent of Police, Rampur, said.

The accused filmed the whole incident using their mobile phones and circulated it over social media in the last 15 days. The identity of the two women is yet to be ascertained, the report added.

The shocking footage aired by the channel showed the men accosting the victims on an isolated road. As they were walking away, one of the accused was seen pulling the woman’s dupatta. The men then went on to grope, pull and push the women. The women were heard wailing and pleading to let them go.

Reacting to the incident, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan lashed out at the BJP government over the law and order situation, even as he advised the women to stay indoors.

“Molestation, misbehaving with the women, loot, dacoity, murder have become the order of the day. Before the Assembly polls, I had warned the voters of the consequences of voting for the BJP. I had urged them to keep in mind the perfect rule of the SP and the future of law and order. I had said if the BJP was given a chance, law and order will worsen,” he told reporters.

The SP leader said what was now happening in Uttar Pradesh was “not unexpected”, claiming that women in the state were not safe ever since the BJP government took over. Khan advised the parents of the girls to realise the “gravity of the situation. … For the safety of your prestige, keep your daughters inside the houses under strict vigil.

Earlier in March, after coming to power in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi-Adityanath Government deployed ‘Anti-Romeo’ squads to ensure the safety of women in public areas. On the first day of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, the Opposition alleged that the law and order in the state was deteriorating and disrupted Governor Ram Naik address to both the Houses.

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