Patna: Saharsa police on Tuesday arrested two persons for allegedly sexually harassing and stripping a teenaged girl, a video of which had gone viral on social networking sites on Monday.

Saharsa sadar sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Prabhakar Tiwari said that the cops raided hideouts of the suspects on Monday night and arrested two of the five named accused.

The arrested duo, Pankaj Kumar and Chandan Kumar, both residents of Simraha village in Saharsa, are learnt to have confessed to the crime and revealed the names of the remaining accused.

"Raids are underway to nab the remaining accused," said SDPO Tiwari.

He said the identity of all the five accused was ascertained on the basis of the viral video. "We took cognisance of the matter and lodged an FIR on our own. Subsequently, an investigation was launched," he said over the phone.

He said the identity of the victim has been ascertained and the cops approached her family members to get her statement recorded in court under Section 164 of the CrPC.

"The family members told the police that she was out of town," he added.

The girl, a Class XII student, was with a friend when five young men who were watching them tried to snatch her dupatta. Some others joined the group and molested her. Her pleas for help fell on deaf ears.

Though the video showed seven men trying to disrobe the girl while she was returning home on her bicycle, the police could get information about only five youths.

"If the involvement of some other youths comes to light in the probe, we will certainly initiate action against them," said SDPO Tiwari.

Saharsa superintendent of police Rakesh Kumar sounded an alert soon after the video went viral in the district. The police registered a case against the alleged offenders under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

The incident came days after a video clip showing a girl being molested in Gaya surfaced. Senior officers posted at the police headquarters had earlier expressed anguish over video clips of such incidents.

Official figures suggest there has been a rise in crimes against women between January and May this year.

The state recorded 74 cases of rape in January, which went up to 184 in May this year.