A ‘caste panchayat’ in Maharashtra’s Akola district, as a puniꦛshment of remarrying after divorce, asked a 35-year-old woman to lick spit, an official said on Friday.
The shocking incident took place last month in Maharashtra's Akola district, but came to light when a case was registered against the unofficial village council.
A ‘caste panchayat’ in Maharashtra’s Akola district, as a puniꦛshment of remarrying after divorce, asked a 35-year-old woman to lick spit, an official said on Friday.
The woman was also a🎉sked to pay Rs 1 lakh her act.
Showing courage, the woman defi💟ed both the diktats and lod❀ged a police complaint.
The shocking incident took place last month, but came to light when a case was registered against the unofficial village council, 𒁏he said.
On a complaint of the victim, who stays in Jalgaon district, an FIR under sections🔴 5 and 6 of the Maharashtra Protection of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2016, has been registered against ten members of the caste panchayat, the official said.
The FIR was registered on Thursday evening at Jalgaon's Chopda city police station, under whose jurisdiction the woman resides, and later the case was transferred for investigation to the Pinjar police station in Akola where the incident took plaᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚce, he said.
According to the complaint, the incident took place on April 9 at Wadgaon village in Akola, where the caste panchayat was called to tak🗹e a decision on the second marriage of the victim, he said.
The victim belongs to the 'Nath Jogi' community, whose caste panchayat di𝔉d not accept her second marriage🍎, the official said.
The victim got married for the secon𒁏d time in 201ꦛ9 after taking divorce from her first husband in 2015, the official said.
Her first marriage took place in 2011, he said.
At the caste p🉐anchayat meeting, members discussed the woman's second marriage and called her sister and other relatives, and delivered their "verdict" on the issue (the victim was not present at the meet), the official said.
According to the verdict, mem꧋bers of the caste panchayat were to spit on banana le🉐aves and the victim was to lick it as a punishment, the official said.
Besides, the caste panchayat sought a payment ಞof Rs 1 lakh from the victim, he s🐬aid.
After fulfilling these demands by the panchayat, the v𝓀ictim was told she can "return" to her community, the officia🐭l said, quoting from the complaint.
The decision of the caste pꦡanchayat was conveyed to th𒁏e victim by her relatives.
Shocked by th൲e decision, the victim approached the Chopda city police station and lodged the complaint against members of the panchayat, said Pravin Munde, Sup🐻erintendent of Police, Jalgaon.
As the incident took place in Akol𝓡꧙a, the case has been transferred there for further investigation, he said.