Jharkhand: 3-year-old raped, panchayat imposes ₹1 lakh fine on accused; Money used for liquor party

A three-year-old girl was raped in the Palma village of Jharkhand’s Gumla district after which the village panchayat attempted to stifle the case by imposing a fine of ₹1 lakh on the accused rather than reporting the matter to police.

The accused has been identified as Sunil Lohra. The panchayat ordered Sunil to pay ₹20,000 that was later used by those present to organise a feat involving liquor and meat. He was asked to pay the remaining ₹80,000 within a week, IANS reported.

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After police received a tip-off, officials intervened before the incident could be buried. Soon after, an FIR was registered in connection with the matter and the accused was taken into custody.

As per reports, the police got to know that the village panchayat was making efforts to settle the rape case through a small fine to prevent it from reaching the authorities.

Under extreme pressure from the villagers, the victim’s family members did not report the matter to police.

After receiving information regarding the incident, police officials reached the village and recorded the statement of victim’s mother. Later on, an FIR was registered, and the accused was arrested.

The incident took place at around 4 p.m. on Saturday when Lohra visited the victim’s home. Officials said that the victim’s mother was at home when the accused offered to look after the child and asked the woman to finish her household chores.

Thereafter, the accused took the child into a room and sexually assaulted her. After hearing her child crying, the woman rushed inside the room to find her bleeding.

Instead of reporting the crime to police, the matter was taken to the village panchayat.

The family members have claimed that a few members of the panchayat took the child to a private doctor and later convened a public meeting on Sunday, where it was decided that they will impose a fine of ₹1 lakh on the accused to settle the issue inside the village.

Officials said that the feast, which was funded with the ₹20,000 given by the accused, was underway when the police team arrived at the spot.

Further investigation in the matter is currently underway.