Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP Shambhavi Chaudhary has taken responsibility for the administration’s response to the recent harassment cases reported in Samastipur and Banka, while condemning the incidents and calling for a review to prevent similar cases in the future.
The remarks came after videos linked to incidents in Samastipur and Banka surfaced, triggering concerns over the safety of women and girls in Bihar. In the Samastipur case, four people have been arrested after a video showing a girl being allegedly harassed in public surfaced. A separate video from Banka’s Mandar Hill showed a group of youths allegedly misbehaving with a woman, following which police registered a case against six unidentified people.
‘There Is No Justification For This’
Responding to questions over the incidents in her constituencies, Chaudhary said the harassment was deeply distressing and could not be justified or accepted in any manner.
She said, “First of all, what has happened is extremely painful and there is no justification for it, nor can it be accepted in any manner. We strongly condemn it and we stand firmly with the victim’s family.”
‘We Are Not Running Away From Responsibility’
On the question of accountability, Chaudhary said she was not shying away from responsibility and had remained in contact with the administration since the incidents came to light.
“As far as responsibility is concerned, we are not running away from our responsibility at all. Since the incident happened, we have continuously remained in touch with the administration and have also ensured that the accused are arrested. We take responsibility,” she said.
The Samastipur case saw police arrest four people after the video surfaced, while the Banka case led to a police investigation and the registration of a case against six unidentified youths.
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Accountability And Transparency Needed
Chaudhary said accountability and transparency were among the most important elements of good governance. She added that mistakes should be acknowledged and corrective steps taken.
“If somewhere the most important things in good governance are that you fix your accountability and ensure transparency, and whenever a mistake happens, you acknowledge that mistake and improve upon it,” she said.
“We are taking full responsibility for the mistake that has happened on our part, and we will make every effort to ensure that all these incidents are reviewed in the coming days. There should be a discussion on them and the strongest possible action should be taken so that no criminal gets the courage to commit such acts in the future,” she added.
Focus On Preventing Repeat Incidents
Chaudhary's remarks emphasised both action against those accused and a review of the circumstances surrounding the incidents. She said such a review and stronger action were necessary to ensure that offenders are deterred from repeating such acts.
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