The 'kangaroo court' formed by elders of the village ordered the rape because the woman, who belonged to the 'Santhal' tribal group fell in love with a non-tribal man from a nearby village. According to Birbhum police chief C Sudhakar, "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 organised a 'kangaroo court'. During the 'proceedings', the couple were made to sit with tied hands". Then the headman of the kangaroo court of the woman's village fined the couple 25,000 Indian rupees, which are $400USD for the crime of falling in love with a man from another village. The man's family was able to pay, however, the woman's family were not able to pay. The headman who is also a distant relative of the woman, then gave the order for the rape saying "Her family could not pay, so go enjoy the girl and have fun". Then the 13 men raped the woman, which included teens and elders.
The rape occurred on Monday but the family of the woman did not have the courage to report it on the day, and her case was reported to the police and she was admitted to a hospital on Wednesday instead, in a critical condition.
The 13 rapists and the headman of the kangaroo court have been arrested by the police. None of them have given a public statement yet. Although they have been arrested, it is not really guaranteed that they will be jailed/punished because in India cases like this are very common and the rapists are usually bailed out.
This is not the first rape case that has appeared in January this year, many other rape cases have also made it to the news. And as we know, the ones that make it to the news are the rarity, while those which never make it to the news happen everyday.
Muhammad Junaid
Muhammad Junaid is the writer of Entertainment Ghost. He writes articles, reviews, previews and entertainment news about gaming, technology, the media and so on. You can follow him on Twitter @Mr_MJunaid and Facebook MJunaid
