They silently watched a murder, now they are ostracised

AGRA, APRIL 2: An Agra village watched as a woman was beaten to death last month for being a bad omen'. Now, the Jat panchayat has ordere...

AGRA, APRIL 2: An Agra village watched as a woman was beaten to death last month for being a bad omen’. Now, the Jat panchayat has ordered a social boycott of the village for a month.

The gory incident happened in Nagla Bhuja, a predominantly Jat village near Agra, on March 15. Sukhviri was walking down with a pot to fetch water when brothers Vijay Pal and Virender came on a tractor. Villagers believe that a woman with an empty pot is a bad omen in a journey.

The brothers were furious as the bad omen’ came in their way. They began beating her up, tearing her clothes while villagers watched. Sukhviri, a mother of two, died later and the police arrested the brothers.

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The Jat elders of surrounding villages were shocked by the shameful incident. They held a panchayat of elderly Jats at Nagla Bhuja. It decided to punish the entire village for remaining silent spectators. The family of the accused has been excommunicated and the panchayat has ordered a social boycott against the village for a month.

The panchayat also decided to raise a fund of Rs 3 lakh for Sukhviri’s daughters. The panchayat had participation from the nearby districts — Mathura, Aligarh, Hathras and Mainpuri.

The villagers of Nagla Bhuja are feeling the pinch as milkmen, vendors and shopkeepers too have boycotted them.