A sarpanch (village chief) from the Muktsar district of Punjab, who was arrested on Tuesday for slapping a woman, has been released on bail.
The incident occurred when Barinder Pal Kaur was waiting to approach Harsimrat Kaur Badal, a Member of Parliament and the daughter-in-law of Punjab's Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, with a memo asking for permanent jobs.
The village chief, Baljinder Singh, was arrested under Sections 323 (Punishment for Voluntarily Causing Hurt) and 341 (Wrongful Restraint) of the Indian Penal Code.
According to media reports, the Duala village chief was granted bail within a few hours of his arrest, after a bond of Rs. 50,000 was deposited.
The First Information Report against the leader was filed on Monday. The Punjab government had also been directed to investigate the incident, reports said.
The incident provoked statewide protests and was criticized by various political classes in India. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan criticized the incident, tweeting: "disgusting and should be punishable for sure."
