Overview
- A video that surfaced showing two Class 10 students being harassed on a roadside in Jamui on September 19 led police to file an FIR under the POCSO Act, form an SIT led by a woman officer and arrest three suspects while raids continue to find others.
- National opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav publicly condemned the Jamui incident and demanded swift POCSO prosecutions, prompting the Bihar State Women’s Commission to seek reports from district authorities.
- In West Bengal, Nandigram Congress nominee Milan Pradhan was arrested on old cases and remanded to judicial custody until October 3 while Rejinagar independent candidate Saiful Islam was arrested in a 2021 clash case, intensifying tensions ahead of October 6 bypolls.
- AJUP chief Humayun Kabir has lodged a formal complaint with the Election Commission alleging selective police targeting, has been summoned over a circulated audio clip, and has suspended physical campaigning for his party and his son’s campaign in Rejinagar.
- The two developments matter because the October 6 bypolls are symbolically important for multiple parties, the policing and legal moves are shifting campaigns online and into courts, and voters may see reduced ground contact, increased election complaints and extended legal battles before polling.