Patna: A video showing a group of men molesting a 19-year-old girl in Nalanda district went viral on social networking sites on Monday evening, the fourth such clip to surface in the past one-and- a-half-months in districts under the jurisdiction of the Patna police zone.

The latest incident took place on Saturday when the girl was walking back home with her classmate after attending tuitions.

Four men intercepted them on the Bharethi-Aladhi road under the jurisdiction of Hilsa police station and started harassing the girl.

Another man later joined the group and tried to rape her.

"The man in his early-40s bodily lifted me and forcibly tried to take me to a nearby agricultural field. My screams fell on deaf ears.

"I somehow managed to set myself free, run home and narrate my ordeal," the girl is learnt to have told the cops on Monday when she went to the police station with her family members.

In the video, one of the men can be seen trying to rip the girl's clothes while filming the incident as the girl pleads with the men to let her go.

Hilsa sub-divisional police officer Mutafique Ahmed said that the girl's family initially kept the matter under wraps because of social stigma attached with such incidents.

The family finally approached the cops after the video went viral on social networking sites.

Hilsa police station house officer (SHO) Ratan Kumar Jha said the girl's complaint has been received and an FIR has been lodged on the basis of the girl's statement.

"Raids are underway to arrest the accused," the SHO told The Telegraph over phone on Tuesday.

The SHO claimed that the men have already been identified.

A police source said one of the accused is Srikant alias Billu, a resident of Bharethi village in Nalanda district.

The girl was living in a rented accommodation in the sub-divisional headquarters town, for preparing competitive examinations.

Her classmate, a resident of Jehanabad, told the police that the incident took place around 1 pm on Saturday when they were on way to the girl's house on foot.

The men had beaten him up as well.

The state police are alarmed over the new trend of filming sexual assaults and uplg the clips on social media.

"The disconcerting trend of eve-teasing and filming the incidents has unnerved senior police officials," said an Indian Police Service officer who spoke under cover of anonymity.

The Hilsa incident is the fourth such incident in the Patna police zone districts.

In May this year, a group of young men molested a minor girl in an area under the jurisdiction of Kako police station in Jehanabad district.

After the video of the brazen assault went viral, the cops swung into action and 13 persons were arrested.

A few days later, two other videos, each showing teen-aged girls being molested by youngsters, went viral from Patna rural and Kaimur districts.

In both the cases, the accused were identified and arrested by the police.

Inspector-general of police (Patna zone) Nayyar Hasnain Khan said the cops have taken the incidents very seriously and initiated action against the offenders as per the law.

"Instructions have been issued to file charge sheets in such cases as early as possible after collecting scientific evidences," he asserted.