village elders in india ordered the gang rape of a 20 year-old woman after they found out she was in a relationship with a man from a different community, police said on thursday. 13 people were arrested in a rural part of west bengal in connection with the alleged offense which left the woman in critical condition in the hospital.
birbhum police chief c. sudhakar told the bbc, "the relationship was going on for almost five years. when the man visited the woman's home on monday with the proposal of marriage, villagers spotted him and organized a kangaroo court. during the proceedings, the couple were made to sit with hands tied."
sudhakar said the elders took action because the woman was from their tribal community and her boyfriend was from a non-tribal community nearby. kangaroo courts, made up of village elders, do not have an official capacity but are not uncommon, especially in the rural areas in india.
the woman said she was assaulted at night on january 20 in the district of birbhum. sudhakar said the lead elder, who is among those arrested, initially ordered the woman's family to pay 25,000 rupees ($400). but they were too poor to pay the fine - and he told the alleged gang rapists "go enjoy the girl and have fun," according to a complaint filed by the family.
according to a report by reuters, the men appeared in court and are now remanded in jail. the issue of sexual violence against women and girls in india became a national and international concern last year after a 23 year-old student was killed in a brutal gang rape in delhi in 2012. the case shocked the world, which led to nationwide protests and a toughening of the laws covering sex crimes.
i am
- mark j. tuggle
- harlem, usa
- same-gender-loving contemporary descendant of enslaved africans. community activist, feminist, health educator, independent filmmaker, mentor, playwright, poet & spiritual being. featured at, in & on africana.com, afrikan poetry theatre, angel herald, bejata dot com, bet tonight with tavis smiley, blacklight online, black noir, brooklyn moon cafe, gmhc's barbershop, klmo-fm, lgbt community services center, longmoor productions, nuyorican poets cafe, our corner, poz, pulse, rolling out new york, rush arts gallery, saint veronica's church, schomburg center for research in black culture, sexplorations, the citizen, the new york times, the soundz bar, the trenton times, the village voice, upn news, uzuri, venus, vibe, wbai-fm, wnyc-fm & wqht-fm. volunteered with adodi, bailey house, inc., black men's xchange-new york, colorofchange.org, drug policy alliance, east harlem tutorial program, imagenation film & music festival, presente.org, save darfur coalition, the enough project, the osborne association, the sledge group & your black world. worked on films with maurice jamal & heather murphy. writing student of phil bertelsen & ed bullins. mjt975@msn.com.
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