Men molest, grope girls on road in UP, upload video on social sites

Lucknow, DH News Service, May 28 2017: In a shocking incident, around half a dozen young men allegedly molested and groped two girls on a road in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur district, about 325 kilometres from here. The incident came to light after a video, which went viral on the social networking sites, showed the two girls trying to protect themselves from the predators, who are seen laughing and indulging in indecent acts. The men are seen dragging one of the girls, touching her inappropriately and even forcibly taking her in his lap even as she desperately tries to free herself. The culprits also snatched the 'dupattas' (a scarf women often put on their shoulders) of the victims and encircled them squeezing them in between. As the girls cry for help and plead with them to let them go, one of the men is heard telling the others to record the molestation and upload it on the social networking sites. The footage also shows one of the men forcibly holding the girl by her arms and pointing toward his friends to record the act. Though it was not clear by the footage where did the incident take place, sources said that it occurred in Tanda area in the district a few days back. The spot seems to be a village road which is surrounded by trees. Police have registered a case against 14 people in this connection and arrested two alleged culprits. ''We are trying to identify the other culprits....stern action will be taken against them,'' said superintendent of police, Rampur, Vipin Tada on Sunday. The police were in possession of the video. The incident that comes close on the heels of the alleged gang-rape of four women near Noida Expressway a few days back, has come as a huge embarrassment for the Yogi Adityanath regime, which has of late come under sharp attack from the opposition over its alleged failure on the law and order front. UP government had set up an 'Anti-Romeo Squad' soon after Adityanath took charge of the state to crack down on eve teasers.