Before Nandan Yadav became a key accused in the alleged assault and harassment of two minors in Bihar’s Jamui, his social-media accounts projected a very different image.
His Facebook and Instagram profiles feature motorcycles, cars, local music, religious events, gatherings with friends and reels built around themes of bravado and caste pride.
Some videos also show alcohol and smoking, while others use songs and voiceovers referring to guns, crime, confrontation and fearlessness.
The posts do not establish why Yadav allegedly participated in the Jamui incident. But they offer a glimpse of the public persona he appeared to present online.
ALSO READ: 263 Million Women Have Experienced Sexual Violence. Is It Still Women’s Fault?
Who is Nandan Yadav?
Yadav, 25, has been identified by police as one of the main accused in the September 19 incident in Jamui involving a teenage boy and girl.
The two Class 10 students were allegedly stopped by a group of men in the Madwa Pahar area while they were out together. According to police, the group allegedly abused, harassed and assaulted the two minors.
A video of the incident was recorded and subsequently circulated on social media, triggering police action and widespread outrage. Police said they identified around seven people allegedly involved in the incident.
Yadav was identified as the masked man seen in the footage. Police have booked the accused under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
What do Nandan Yadav’s social-media posts show?
A review of Yadav’s Facebook and Instagram accounts by ThePrint found repeated imagery centred on toughness, status and caste identity.
One Instagram reel, posted on September 8, was filmed at Madwa Hill, according to ThePrint. Yadav is seen sitting on a motorcycle and twirling his moustache while an audio track refers to Yadav identity and standing one's ground in difficult situations.
The location is significant because Madwa Pahar was later identified as the site of the September 19 incident.
Other videos show Yadav with friends, including clips involving drinking and smoking.
Several posts use dramatic music or voiceovers referring to guns, jail, crime and confrontation. One audio talks about not being afraid of going to jail, while another uses a voiceover about becoming a “real villain”, according to ThePrint’s review of the accounts.
There are also videos from local restaurants, salons and social gatherings, alongside posts connected to religious occasions.
The accounts therefore do not consist only of crime-related imagery. They also contain ordinary snapshots of everyday life.
ALSO READ: 17-Year-Old Allegedly Gang-Raped By Three Men Posing As Cops In Delhi Park Near Kalkaji Temple
‘Yadav pride’ is a recurring theme
Caste identity also features prominently in some of the reels.
One video shows Yadav twirling his moustache as an audio track celebrates Yadav identity and suggests that a Yadav cannot easily be intimidated.
Other posts similarly use music and dialogue built around community pride.
But these posts need to be read carefully.
They show how Yadav presented himself online. They do not establish that caste identity motivated the alleged assault or explain his conduct during the September 19 incident.
ALSO READ: Swaroop Nagar Gang Rape-Murder: Teen Went To Meet A Friend, Body Found In Field After Dogs Ate It
The police encounter
Yadav was arrested on Tuesday, September 22, after a police operation to locate him.
According to police, investigators received information about his whereabouts and traced him to a hiding place near the Jamui-Lakhisarai area. Police said Yadav opened fire when officers approached and that they fired back in self-defence.
Yadav suffered a gunshot injury to his leg and was taken to hospital before being arrested.
Another accused, Hareram Yadav, was also arrested during the operation and suffered a leg injury while allegedly trying to escape, according to police.
The account of the exchange of fire comes from police sources and remains part of the ongoing investigation.
As of September 23, five people, including three juveniles, had been arrested in connection with the September 19 incident, according to Hindustan Times. Seven people had reportedly been identified by police.
ALSO READ: 16-Year-Old Allegedly Gang-Raped On Sleeper Bus From Greater Noida To Delhi: What Happened?
The viral video has become a second investigation
The same video that helped bring the alleged assault to public attention has also created a separate legal issue.
Bihar Police registered a case against around 120 social-media profile holders for circulating footage that could reveal the identity of the minor girl.
Jamui Superintendent of Police Vishwajeet Dayal appealed to people not to circulate the footage, saying that revealing the identity of a minor victim can attract legal action under the POCSO Act, Information Technology Act and Juvenile Justice Act.
Police have also been working to remove the footage from social-media platforms.
This has created a complicated digital trail around the case.
The video helped investigators identify people allegedly involved in the incident. At the same time, its circulation risked exposing the identity of the minor involved.
ALSO WATCH: Uttarakhand Gang Rape Case: Two Accused Assaulted By Mob After Escape Attempt During Police Custody
What the social-media trail can, and cannot, tell us
Yadav’s online accounts show a recurring combination of motorcycles, moustache-focused imagery, caste references, local music, drinking, smoking and videos built around bravado.
They document the image he chose to project on social media.
But they cannot, on their own, establish his motive or prove the allegations against him.
Those questions will have to be addressed through the police investigation and the judicial process.
For now, the digital trail remains one part of a wider case that began with a video of two minors being allegedly harassed in Jamui and has since expanded into arrests, an encounter and a separate police crackdown on the circulation of the footage.
ALSO WATCH: Rapes In India, Seven Years After Nirbhaya
