The police arrested nine people, including a minor, a day after an FIR was registered in connection with the alleged beating up of over 30 girl students of a school in Bihar’s Supaul.

“Nine people have been arrested so far. One of them is a minor; asked for matric certificates from others. Want to identify the rest and don’t want any innocent to get caught,” ASP of Triveniganj, where the incident happened, was quoted as saying by ANI.

The ASP Triveniganj had on Sunday said that some women who were involved in the incident have been taken into custody and are being interrogated.

On Saturday, at least 34 girls, all of them students of Kasturba Awasiya Balika Vidyalay in Triveniganj, were thrashed by a group of youths who forcibly entered with the alleged intention of molesting the girls.

Darbhanga zonal IG Pankaj Darad said on Sunday that some boys used to write obscene words on walls of a nearby playground where the girls used to go to play.

“Girls used to rub it off. This was happening since 2-4 days. On Saturday they asked a boy, Mohan, to stop doing that. Upon hearing this, Mohan, his mother and some other women beat them up,” the senior cop was quoted as saying by ANI.

According to reports, some girls caught a group of boys who had sneaked into the school on the day of the incident. They asked the men to leave. The girls had to beat the guys up in self defence when they began to misbehave with them.

Later, as things escalated, the girls were reportedly beaten up by over two dozen men. Many girls were left bleeding and they were soon rushed to the hospital.

But Mohan, who is one of the accused in the incident, claimed innocence.

“Girls might be taking my name but I didn’t do anything. They asked me if I did anything but I denied, hearing that they beat me up,” ANI quoted him as saying.

On Sunday the police had said that 14 of the girls are still at a hospital undergoing treatment for injuries.

The girls had reportedly complained to the school administration earlier against the boys but no action was taken. The district administration said that action will also be taken against the school.

Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav accused the government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the rise in lawlessness in the state.

“Because CM personally interferes to ensure that rapists & perpetrators gets a free run. In majority cases his party men, law makers and office bearers are the main culprits. If an honest officer tries to catch hold of them, He/she is transferred immediately. #NitishKaAatankRaj,” he said in a tweet posted on Sunday.