Woman tonsured, ostracised on kangaroo court’s order in Odisha

Police said the woman had a quarrel with her husband over some minor issue on August 9. The husband accused her of accidentally hitting him during the quarrel, which is considered a “serious crime” in their village, police sources said. The husband then complained to others in the village about the incident, and a kangaroo court was convened for a “trial” of the woman. The court allegedly ordered that the woman be ostracised and tonsured, and directed her to give a feast of mutton to the people of the village.

“On hearing about the incident, one of the woman’s sons, who is working as a tailor at Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, came to the village on August 21 and lodged a complaint before the police on Saturday, seeking necessary legal action,” Laikera inspector-in-charge Dilip Behera told The Indian Express.

It was also alleged in the complaint that those in the kangaroo court used obscene language against the woman and humiliated her during her “trial” for allegedly hitting her husband.

“During the probe, we found that the husband and three other senior villagers were involved in the incident, and we subsequently arrested them,” Behera said. Apart from the husband, the others arrested were identified as Nabin Ping, Satrughan Kisan, and Susanta Ping.

The accused were charged under sections 133 (assault or use of criminal force with intent to dishonour a person), 296 (obscene acts), 351 (criminal intimidation), 356 (defamation), 74 (assault or use of criminal force on woman to outrage her modesty), and 85 (cruelty by a husband or relative of a woman) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.