Kishanganj police arrest man after assault video near Tulsia Halt goes viral
Synopsis
A video of an alleged assault on a woman, sent to a police chief's WhatsApp at midnight, has triggered an SIT probe, one arrest, and a multi-state manhunt — with suspects reportedly spread across Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka and Punjab. The fact that a village panchayat had already tried to 'resolve' the matter before the clip went viral raises serious questions about access to justice in rural Bihar.
Key Takeaways
Kishanganj police arrested Shahzad , aged around 21 , in connection with an alleged assault on a young woman near Tulsia Halt railway station .
The video was sent to SP Santosh Kumar's WhatsApp at approximately 12:30 a.m. on 25 September , prompting immediate action.
Police say the video is approximately four to five months old ; five suspects have been identified.
Four suspects are reportedly living outside Bihar — in Gujarat , Haryana , Karnataka , and Punjab respectively.
An SIT has been formed under SDPO-02 ; an FIR has been registered based on the survivor's complaint.
A village panchayat meeting was held after the incident in an apparent attempt at informal resolution, which police are also examining.
Kishanganj police have arrested one person and launched a manhunt for several others after a video allegedly showing a young woman being assaulted and verbally abused near Tulsia Halt railway station in the Dighalbank police station area was sent directly to Superintendent of Police (SP) Santosh Kumar via WhatsApp at around 12:30 a.m. on 25 September 2026. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted, an FIR registered, and raids are ongoing to trace accused persons believed to be spread across multiple states.
How the case came to light
The video was received on SP Santosh Kumar's WhatsApp number in the early hours of 25 September. The SP immediately directed a technical team to examine the footage and ordered a ground inspection of the location identified in the clip. Preliminary investigation indicated that the incident took place near Tulsia Halt railway station. Police said the video appears to be approximately four to five months old.
The footage allegedly shows several youths escorting a young woman into a house, after which she is allegedly subjected to verbal abuse and physical assault. A village-level panchayat meeting was subsequently held in the presence of the village Mukhiya in what appears to have been an attempt to resolve the matter informally — a detail investigators are also examining.
The accused and their whereabouts
Based on technical examination of the footage and intelligence inputs, police initially identified five suspects: Afsar alias Hati, son of Tajmul, a resident of Mustafaganj; Zuber Khan, son of Md Basir, a resident of Shripur; Mizan alias Salman, son of Jahagir, a resident of Dahibhanga; Kamil, son of Ashauddin, a resident of Muharar Toli; and Shahnaz, son of Sabir, a resident of Janirpasti Dahibhanga.
According to police, preliminary verification indicates that several suspects are currently living outside Bihar. Afsar alias Hati is reportedly in Gujarat, Zuber Khan in Haryana, Mizan alias Salman in Karnataka, and Kamil in Punjab. Efforts are underway to verify the whereabouts of the remaining named suspect.
Arrest and ongoing search
Acting on evidence gathered during the investigation, police arrested Shahzad, aged around 21, a resident of Shabbir Tola, Jagir Dahibhat, under Dighalbank police station. He was apprehended in Dighalbank and is currently under interrogation, police said. Raids are continuing at suspected hideouts to trace and apprehend the remaining accused.
An SIT has been constituted under the leadership of Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO)-02 to oversee the investigation. Investigators are deploying both technical evidence and human intelligence to trace those allegedly involved.
The survivor's account
Police said the woman has been identified and her statement recorded. According to her account, she had gone to the railway station to meet a friend when she was allegedly noticed by youths from nearby villages, who then made objectionable remarks and assaulted her. An FIR has been registered based on her complaint, and further investigation is underway.
What the police said
SP Santosh Kumar stated that all individuals found to be involved would face legal action in accordance with the law after their roles are established during the investigation. The case is being monitored at the district level, and investigators are also examining the conduct of those who attended the panchayat meeting held in the aftermath of the incident.
This comes amid broader concerns over the use of informal dispute-resolution forums to sidestep criminal proceedings in assault cases — a pattern critics argue can deny survivors timely legal recourse. The swift registration of an FIR and constitution of an SIT signal that police are not treating this as a routine local matter.
Point of View
And it consistently disadvantages survivors. The fact that an FIR was only filed after the video reached the SP's phone raises the question of what would have happened had it not gone viral. Police responsiveness once the clip surfaced was swift, but the system's first response — informal mediation — was not. That gap deserves as much scrutiny as the accused themselves.
NationPress
26 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened in the Kishanganj assault case?
A video allegedly showing a young woman being verbally abused and physically assaulted near Tulsia Halt railway station in Kishanganj, Bihar, was sent to the district SP via WhatsApp at around 12:30 a.m. on 25 September. Police say the incident appears to have occurred approximately four to five months ago, and action was triggered only after the video circulated.
Who has been arrested so far in the Kishanganj case?
One person, identified as Shahzad, aged around 21, a resident of Shabbir Tola, Jagir Dahibhat, under Dighalbank police station, has been arrested. He is currently being interrogated, and raids are ongoing to apprehend the other named accused.
How many suspects have been identified and where are they?
Police have named five suspects — Afsar alias Hati, Zuber Khan, Mizan alias Salman, Kamil, and Shahnaz. Preliminary verification indicates that four of them are living outside Bihar, reportedly in Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, and Punjab respectively.
What is the SIT formed in the Kishanganj assault case?
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted under the leadership of Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO)-02 to oversee the investigation. The SIT is using technical evidence and human intelligence to trace all those allegedly involved in the incident.
What was the role of the village panchayat in this case?
According to police, a village-level panchayat meeting was held in the presence of the village Mukhiya after the incident, apparently in an attempt to resolve the dispute informally. Investigators are also examining the conduct of those who participated in that meeting.
