Kolkata, Jun 16 (IANS): In a bizarre incident six persons were arrested for stripping and parading a woman naked for having an extra-marital love relationship in Paschim Chengmar village in Alipurduar district on Tuesday. Five other persons were absconding and search is on for them, police said.
According to the police, the incident took place on Thursday night at Paschim Changmari village under Kumargram police station limits in West Bengal's Alipurduar district when a group of villagers belonging to the tribal community tortured a tribal woman, tore open her clothes and paraded her naked. It has been alleged that the woman left her husband and went away with another man but came back to her husband on Thursday after six months. The woman, after the incident left for her parental home and police, had no clue about the whole incident.
Police learned about it on Sunday when a video of the incident was widely circulated on social media. Upon her return to the village, she was cornered by villagers, a police officer said. In a Kangaroo court, village elders decided stripping as a form of "punishment" for her alleged extramarital affair with a man from a neighbouring village.
"Mariya na kitna mariyega (beat me as much as you can)," the woman is heard saying in the video. A team from West Bengal police went to Assam and brought the woman back home and then she registered a complaint against the incident. According to the complaint, there were 11 people involved in the whole incident and six of them have been arrested so far. "Search is on for the rest of the culprits," a senior police officer said.
"A group of villagers belonging to a tribal community tortured a tribal woman on Thursday night. We acted immediately and informed the Officer in Charge, Khamakhaguri under Kumargram police station, and arrested six persons. We applied for 14 days remand, got 12 days for further investigation. Raids are on to arrest the other accused persons and action will be taken as per law," a senior police officer said.