Neeraj Pandey on Maithili Thakur’s Bihar safety remark: ‘Not everyone’s Bihar is the same’

“Good for you. Par sabka Bihar ek hi Bihar nahi hai (There isn’t one Bihar for everyone). Not everyone who grew up there got to say that,” he wrote.

Sharing his own experience, Pandey said he had never felt safe while growing up in the state, despite the privileges that came with being a man.

“I am from Bihar. And I never felt safe growing up there. With all my privileges of even being a man, my physical boundaries were invaded many times. Your comfort doesn’t speak for everyone. The reality of any state or society should be asked from the people on the receiving end. I was on the receiving end,” he wrote.

Referring to the Jamui case, Pandey urged people to consider the experience of the girl involved rather than relying only on individual perceptions of safety.

“Ask the girl who faced the unfortunate incident. And mind you that Jamui is not just one stand-alone incident. Ask any girl, I would say. Homeland is not always the land of fairytales. It is also the place of trauma we carry in our lives. One day, I’ll write down everything that happened,” he said.

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He concluded by suggesting that he may eventually document those experiences in a book.

“A home is supposed to be a safe space so does a homeland. I’ll write about it. . . . Bihar, Jamui Incident, Maithili Thakur, Political Leader, Society,” Pandey wrote in the caption accompanying the post.

The video predates the Jamui incident

However, fact-checks have established that the video featuring Thakur was not recorded in response to the Jamui incident. The footage dates back to April, when she was responding to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s remarks about women’s safety in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

In an interview at the time, Thakur said, “It doesn’t matter what Didi says. I myself come from Bihar. I am the daughter of Bihar and we are very safe.”

The remarks were therefore made several months before the September 19 incident in Jamui. The old video has resurfaced on social media in the aftermath of the case and is now being widely shared.

Thakur has separately spoken about the Jamui incident. On September 22, she called the incident involving the minor girl “extremely condemnable, shameful and heart-wrenching”. She also stressed that boys need to be taught that touching, stopping or mistreating a girl without her consent is a crime.

जमुई की नाबालिग बेटी के साथ जो हुआ, वह बेहद निंदनीय, शर्मनाक और दिल झकझोर देने वाला है।

हम बेटियों को तो सिखाते हैं कि कैसे रहना है, क्या पहनना है, लेकिन बेटों को यह सिखाना भी उतना ही जरूरी है कि किसी लड़की की सहमति के बिना उसे छूना, रोकना या उसके साथ दुर्व्यवहार करना अपराध है।…

— Maithili Thakur (@maithilithakur) September 22, 2026

What happened in Jamui?

The incident took place on the evening of September 19, when a Class 10 girl and a boy, who are friends and attend the same coaching institute, were travelling on a scooter after visiting a nearby spot.

A group of men allegedly stopped the teenagers, abused and assaulted them and prevented them from leaving. A video of the incident was subsequently circulated online, showing the two minors surrounded by a group and subjected to physical and sexual harassment.

Police formed a Special Investigation Team to identify those involved. The main accused, Nandan Yadav, was later arrested after being injured in a police encounter.

Authorities are also investigating the circulation of the video. Police have warned that sharing footage that reveals the identity of a minor victim is a serious offence.

The case has sparked widespread outrage and brought renewed attention to questions around women’s safety, moral policing and the treatment of victims.