UP panchayat decrees 5 shoe-slaps & Rs 50K fine for rape

A village panchayat in Maharajganj district recently asked a minor girl to settle her rape case for Rs 50,000 and five slipper slaps to the accused.

The girl's family declined to accept the panchayat decision and contacted the police, after which a case of molestation was filed.

SP Maharajganj, on Tuesday, directed the police to record the girl's statement under section 164 of CrPc and get her medically examined.

According to reports said that the girl's mother, a resident of a locality under Kothibhar police circle, lodged a complaint with the village panchayat that their minor daughter had been raped by a village youth.

Acting on the complaint, the panchayat, on June 23, asked the girl to take Rs 50,000 from the accused and slap him five times with a slipper in front of the panchayat members to settle the issue.

However, the girl's family refused to accept the decision and contacted the Kothibhari police on June 24.

On the family's complaint, an FIR was lodged under IPC section of molestation and POCSO Act against the accused.

The family later made the panchayat decision viral on social media, after which Maharajganj SP Pradeep Gupta directed the police to get the girl medically examined and also record her statement under Section 164 of CrPc.

The SP told reporters, "If rape is reported in the medical test, a case will be registered under the related sections and action will be taken accordingly."