A man caught on suspicion of bike theft in Bihar's Araria was subjected to brutal torture by a mob which allegedly pulled down his pants and poured chilli powder into his rectum. After a video of the incident surfaced on social media, the Araria Police arrested one man involved in meting out the mob justice on August 25. He has been identified as Mohammed Shifaat, a resident of Islamnagar under the Araria town police station. Shifaat's bike parked outside Sadar Hospital was allegedly stolen on Sunday. According to police, Shifaat later caught a resident of Simraha with the stolen bike. Shifaat and his associates allegedly publicly punished the suspected thief after tying his hands. The viral video showed the victim bending forward while a man sprinkling a chilli powder-like substance into his rectum. The video also showed another man using a pencil to forcibly stuff the chilli powder into the man’s anus. A press statement from the Araria superintendent of police's office said the incident happened in the Islamnagar under Araria police station area." "Some people were committing the inhuman act of tying a young man with a rope and inserting a substance like chilli in his private parts on the charges of theft." The police said a First Information Report (FIR) was registered at the Araria police station against Shifaat and other accused, who were being identified. Major Opposition party Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) targeted the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United)-BJP government over the incident. Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav posted in Hindi on X "Taliban rule in Bihar! BJP/NDA is happily in power in Bihar, hence the casteist media is silent. We and our party talk about the rights and share of Dalits, backward and minorities, hence the casteists always see our rule as jungle raj." Meanwhile, BJP state vice president Santosh Pathak said, "The incident is condemnable. But the police reacted fast and arrested the accused."
