Youth ‘kills self’ after panchayat’s diktat to drink girl’s urine for ‘raping’ her

Before committing suicide by jumping into Samar Sar lake, Fazal Hussain had recorded an audio clip on a mobile phone wherein he stated that he never raped the girl and felt humiliated by the panchayat’s diktat.

A 25-year-old post-graduate youth, who felt humiliated by a panchayat diktat asking him to drink a girl’s urine for allegedly raping her, claimed his life, police said.

SSP Rajouri, Yougal Manhas told HT over phone that in the next two to three days, the police will ascertain the facts and take action accordingly. (Representative Photo)

The incident happened over a week ago in a remote village of Targain in Budhal tehsil of Rajouri district, 150 km northwest of Jammu.

The deceased has been identified as Fazal Hussain, son of Mohammed Abdullah.

Before committing suicide by jumping into Samar Sar lake, near Targain village, Hussain had recorded an audio clip on a mobile phone wherein he stated that he never raped the girl and felt humiliated by the panchayat’s diktat.

SSP Rajouri, Yougal Manhas told HT over phone that in the next two to three days, the police will ascertain the facts and take action accordingly.

Manhas said the mobile phone belonged to one of Hussain’s relative, probably his cousin.

“He had stated in the clip that he was asked by the panchayat to drink girl’s urine and he also claimed that he never raped the girl,” said the SSP.

“They didn’t report the matter to police and appeared before village panchayat,” he added.

The officer said that the Hussain’s body was recovered from the lake on Sunday after it was spotted floating by some shepherds in the upper reaches of Budhal.

Another police officer from Budhal said that the parents of the girl from the same Targain village had approached the panchayat with a complaint of rape against the accused.

“The girl’s family had sought justice and the panchayat came up with such a weird punishment,” he said.

Initial investigations revealed that the panchayat had asked Hussain’s family to compensate the girl’s family with money.

“But Fazal Hussain refused to pay. Thereafter, the panchayat asked him to drink the girl’s urine. Baffled by the weird diktat, Fazal sought two days time to mentally get ready, but on Sunday, his body was found in the lake,” he added.