Lucknow: Tied by the hands to a tree, she wails in pain as each blow lands on her body. A disturbing video shows more than a hundred people, mostly men, watch the flogging. Some smile, no one flinches or steps in.
According to local reports, a village panchayat in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh had ordered the beating of the woman earlier in March because it suspected her of having an affair. The village in Bulandshahr district is just 60 km east of New Delhi, the national capital.
The crime and punishment is among countless kangaroo court verdicts that populate India’s countryside, reports ndtv.com.
The video, reportedly shot by one of the villagers, was widely circulated mid March. It is a full house as people circle around the scene, watching the woman be beaten up for more than a minute.
It is relentless and ruthless but no one intervenes.
Her screams turn into whimpers, she flails around in circles, hinged to the tree trunk with the rope tied to her hands.
The man flogging her is her husband.
By the end of the ordeal, the woman falls unconscious.
Police on March 21 arrested three people, including the husband, after a complaint was registered.
“We found out about the incident yesterday. We called the woman, spoke to her and registered a case. We have arrested the husband, the panchayat pradhan (village headman) and his son. We have filed a case against 20-25 unknown people,” Pravin Ranjan Singh, a senior police officer, told media on March 22.