Rajasthan: ‘Khap’ forces man, woman to bathe in front of hundreds in Sikar

The man and the woman, who are related to each other as nephew and aunt, also reportedly coughed up Rs 31,000 and Rs 22,000, respectively, following which they were accepted back into the social fold

A man and a woman belonging to the Sansi community from Rajasthan’s Sikar district were allegedly made to bathe in front of hundreds of people by a khap panchayat -- a community organisation representing a clan or a group -- on August 21 as atonement for their purported sins.

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The khap members made the man and the woman, who are related to each other as nephew and aunt, cough up Rs31,000 and Rs22,000, respectively, following which they were accepted back into the social fold.

However, the Sikar district police authorities said the charges against the khap members are yet to be proven, even though nine people have been booked for the offence and a probe is in progress.

“The charges are yet to be proved. However, the probe is in progress. We are recording the statements of the villagers, where the incident took place. We are also trying to obtain the videos or pictures of the incident that were taken by the villagers on their mobile phones,” said Gagandeep Singla, superintendent of police (SP), Sikar.

The memorandum narrated the incident and sought action against the accused. It alleged that an objectionable video of the man and the woman was circulated among the locals following which members of the khap panchayat from four districts in the desert state took law into their own hands.

Though hundreds were purportedly present as the man and the woman ‘atoned for their sins’ on August 21, not a single person spoke out against the alleged heinous punishment.

The crowd watched the spectacle in silence and many curious onlookers also filmed the incident on their mobile phones and some others also took pictures of the alleged punishment meted out by the members of the khap panchayat.