Police in India’s West Bengal state have arrested 13 men in connection with a gang rape of a woman, allegedly on orders of village elders who objected to her relationship with a man.
“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 hands tied,” Birbhum police chief C Sudhakar told the BBC.
He said the headman of the woman’s village fined the couple 25,000 rupees ($400; £240) for “the crime of falling in love”.
The man paid up, but the woman’s family were unable to pay, police said.
The headman, who is a distant relative of the woman, then allegedly ordered the rape, Mr Sudhakar said.
“Her family could not pay, so go enjoy the girl and have fun,” the headman reportedly told villagers, according to a complaint filed by the woman’s family.
The 13 men arrested in connection with the incident include the headman.
Although the attack took place on Monday night, the family of the woman gathered courage to go to the police on Wednesday afternoon. The woman was admitted to a hospital only on Wednesday night.
She is currently being cared for by a five-member medical team in hospital, local officials say.
Source: BBC
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