In an atrocious case of inhuman punishments handed out by kangaroo courts in the country, a community panchayat in Rajasthan's Rajsamand district allegedly stripped a 45-year-old woman and paraded her on a donkey on Saturday, after they accused her of killing her nephew.
The incident reportedly took place in a tribal area, following a meeting of the panchayat that declared her to be the killer of her nephew, who had died under unknown circumstances and whom the villagers cremated without informing the police, The Times of India reported.
The man's wife had accused the woman of killing him, and complained to the local panchayat, which heard the matter in a public meeting.
As a form of punishment, the villagers blackened the woman's face with coal, stripped her naked and then paraded her on a donkey for an hour in Thurval village. Her husband later complained to the police, who arrested 30 people on Sunday.
"One Vardi Singh had died on 2 November. The circumstances of his death are not known because the villagers cremated his body and didn't inform the police," SP, Rajsamand, Sweta Dhankar told TOI.
"Singh's wife approached the local community panchayat which decided to hear the case publicly. A meeting was held in the village in which it was declared that the man's aunt had committed the crime, so she must be punished," the officer said.
Following the shocking incident, the police arrested about 30 people, nine of whom are from the victim's family, and have also deployed heavy police force in the village.
"We have arrested 30 persons including nine from the woman's family. We have booked them under relevant sections of the IPC," said the officer.
The woman is said to be in a state of shock and is currently in a shelter home where she is being counselled.
