Around 100 girl students took out a protest march and blocked the National Highway 28A near Sugauli in East Champaran district on Saturday to protest rising incidents of eve-teasing in the sub-divisional town, around 180km north of Patna.
The girls alleged that some youths belonging to a particular community used to harass them while going to their coaching institutes located at Sugauli bus stand and its nearby areas. At times, the alleged tormenters entered the classrooms and passed lewd remarks.
Police, the victims claimed, however, never bothered to listen to their complaints as the tormenters enjoyed the blessings of some political leaders. "A few days ago, the director of a coaching institute had informed the police but in vain," one of the girls alleged.
The protesters said some youths thrashed their relatives when the latter intervened and complained to their parents about their indecent behaviour. "Finding no way out, we decided to take our fight to the streets," the girls told The Telegraph.
This is perhaps for the first time in recent times when such a large number of girls came out to register their protest over eve teasing. "The girls are being harassed for long. But they took to the streets today as no help came from the police," said a resident Abhay Kumar.
The station house officer (SHO) of Sugauli police station, Sunil Kumar, said the road blockade was removed and traffic restored after one-and-a-half-hours. "The police patrolling in the area in which coaching institutions are located, has been intensified," he added.
Sunil denied that the girls or any coaching institute had earlier submitted any formal complaint to the police regarding sexual harassment. "We have taken the matter seriously and assured them that no girl will be harassed in the future," the SHO said.
The road blockade from 10am to 11.30am, however, left commuters to fend for themselves. Vehicles carrying passengers remained stranded at different places due to the traffic snarl on the busy road, fumed Sarvesh Kumar, a resident.
