Police file case over posting of Jamui molestation victim’s photograph

Bihar police have registered a first information report against a Chief Minister’s Office official over the posting of photographs of a minor molestation victim and her family on Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary’s official X account. The case was registered at Secretariat Police Station on Friday against Sagar Prasad, a stenographer in the Chief Minister’s Office, according to the police statement cited by The Hindu. The FIR also covers other people or social media users who forwarded or circulated the post.

The girl and her family had met Choudhary at his official residence in Patna on Thursday, September 24. A message published from the Chief Minister’s account said he had assured the girl that she could move forward without fear and had promised the family speedy justice. The post also said the family was satisfied with police action and that the accused would receive the strictest punishment within one month through a speedy trial.

It included an unblurred photograph showing the minor with her mother and other family members. Police said the post’s viral circulation had compromised the privacy and dignity of the victim and her family, placing the girl’s identity at risk of exposure. After verification, they concluded that Prasad had uploaded the photograph to X.

The image was deleted about 15 minutes after it was posted. The incident prompted criticism from Bihar’s Leader of the Opposition, Tejashwi Yadav. He accused the Chief Minister of revealing the victim’s identity and described the disclosure as a violation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

The case follows the September 19 molestation of the minor in Jamui, as identified in the source material. Police have not provided in the supplied report any further details about the investigation or the people accused in that incident.