Odisha rape survivor beaten in kangaroo court for approaching police; 8 arrested

A Std X girl student in a village under Ranpur police station of Odisha’s Nayagarh district lodged a rape complaint against a 21-year-old man of the village.

BHUBANESWAR: Eight people including five women were arrested in Odisha’s Nayagarh district after a minor girl was tried in a kangaroo court and beaten for hours after she lodged a rape complaint against a 21-year-old man of the village, police said.

The Nayagarh police arrested eight people including five women after the rape complainant was tried in a kangaroo court and beaten for hours. (Representational Image)

Police said the family members of a Std X girl student in a village under Ranpur police station of Nayagarh district on Wednesday lodged an FIR alleging that the accused man had raped the girl 3 months ago. The family alleged that after the incident, a meeting was called by the villagers to sort out the issue and the girl’s family was advised not to lodge an FIR at the local police station.

When the family of the girl lodged an FIR with Ranpur police on Wednesday seeking justice, the family members of the accused took hold of the girl and tied her to an electric pole before she was beaten up for daring to lodge the complaint, police added.

The victim’s family then lodged another complaint against 11 people including the rape accused after which the police arrested 8 persons including 5 women. Inspector of Ranpur police station, Jyoti Prakash Parida said a case was registered against them under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 376 (rape), 341 (wrongful restraint), 294 (utter obscene words in public place), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and sections 3(2)(v), 3(a), 3(1)(r)(s) of Pocso Act and SC /ST Act.

Kangaroo courts have become a nuisance in Nayagarh district over the years. In November last year, a 35-year-old civil contractor who had an altercation with the doctor at a local primary health centre and later punished by a Kangaroo court in his village over the incident allegedly died by suicide following the torture. In October last year, four people in a village under Daspalla block of Nayagarh district were made to drink menstrual blood and faeces in a kangaroo court by villagers who suspected them to be involved in black magic incidents. The victims were asked to pay ₹1 lakh penalty and threatened that they would have to pay ₹5 lakh each if they dared to approach the police.