Video of men groping woman during festival in MP goes viral, case registered

An FIR has been registered in Madhya Pradesh’s Alirajpur district after the emergence of a video which shows a woman being groped by men in broad daylight during Bhagoria, a week-long tribal festival celebrated in the region ahead of Holi.

According to Alirajpur police, the incident occurred on March 11 in Sondwa tehsil’s Walpur village. Speaking to The Indian Express, SP Manoj Kumar Singh said, “We learnt of the incident on Saturday afternoon after the video went viral. So far no one has come forward to complain, but taking cognisance of the incident, we have identified the person who filmed the video and are in the process of catching hold of the men who groped the woman.”

The SP said the video was filmed by a private college teacher from Barwani and the accused are from Dhar and Barwani. They have been booked under IPC section 354 (assaulting woman with intent to outrage her modesty).

Bhagoria is celebrated in the districts of Alirajpur, Jhabua, Dhar, Barwani and western Madhya Pradesh. The police said that during the festival, the tribals customarily consume toddy made from palm trees. “Keeping such things in mind, we made appropriate arrangements; but after the incident came to light, we caught the person who made the video. A team has been formed to nab those who mistreated the woman,” Singh added.