Police have filed a case against 360 people for stripping and parading a woman naked. Fifteen people have been arrested.
The incident took place on Monday after the body of a 20-year-old man, Bimlesh Sah, was found on railway tracks. Some locals held a local woman responsible for the murder. The mob reportedly resorted to violence and set several houses and vehicles on fire.
Later, some of the protesters stripped the woman of her clothes and paraded her naked before thrashing her in public. The incident is said to have happened in the presence of police officers.
Sub-district Magistrate, Jagdishpur, Arun Kumar told local media, "We are investigating the matter and anyone found guilty will be punished. The policemen have been deployed on ground zero to control the situation."
Station House Officer Kunwar Gupta has been suspended for failing to handle the situation.
Many prominent personalities have reacted strongly to the incident. Renowned Social Activist Kavita Krishnan shared the picture of the incident saying "how else to bring home the horror."
"Apologies for the graphic pic - it's pixellated, but I don't usually share such a pic. How else to bring home the horror - a mob stripped, paraded and thrashed this woman in Bihiya, Bhojpur, in Bihar. She lives in a 'red light area', was falsely accused of killing a teenage boy," Krishnan tweeted.
The National Commission for Women has expressed anger over the incident.
It said, "NCWIndia is deeply disturbed by the media report "Bihar: Woman paraded naked on suspicion of killing boy", published in various dailies on 21.08.2018 wherein it has been reported that a woman was beaten, stripped and paraded naked in #Bhojpur district of #Bihar. "
Actor Manoj Bajpayee terms the incident as shameful. He tweeted, "It’s so so shameful. All the faces in the background are so disgusting. This is not my bihar.authorities should take action asap. (sic)"
Author of 'Burn Riots With Love' Prerna Bakshi writes, "A woman is stripped, paraded naked as the people watch. And this nation talks of #BharatMataKiJai. For shame!"
Several incidents of mob violence have shocked that nation in recent weeks.
The BBC reports that the vision of the incident was circulated via WhatsApp. The global messaging giant, owned by the Facebook, has been in the centre of controversies for being used to spread misinformation that led to mob lynchings in India.
According to media reports over 60 incidents of mob attacks on individuals have been reported since the beginning of the year. According to an analysis by the data journalism initiative IndiaSpend, 24 people have been killed in such mob attacks - twice the number than in 2017.
The government of India has demanded the company to work out a method to trace these harmful messages.
The messaging app "must find solutions to these challenges which are downright criminal and [a] violation of Indian laws," information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday following a meeting with WhatsApp CEO Chris Daniels.
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