Woman sarpanch paraded naked, son abducted

Chhatarpur, MP, June 21 : A woman sarpanch has been allegedly paraded naked and her son abducted by influential locals at this district's Mahoikala.

A police case is yet to be registered regarding the June 17 incident during which the woman was physically assaulted by about half-a-dozen persons.

Samajwadi Party MLA Vijay Bahadur Singh Bundela and the sarpanch met Collector Ajatshatru yesterday. The bureaucrat and Superintendent of Police Pramod Sinha assured her of strict action.

''The woman is yet to approach a police station but she is being medically examined,'' said Mr Sinha. In the presence of the legislator, the sarpanch alleged that Santosh Shukla and Lakhan Shukla were demanding Rs 50,000 of a Rs 1.78-lakh development amount sanctioned by the Divisional Commissioner.

''On June 15 and 16, Santosh and about half-a-dozen people pistol-whipped me and my son. The accused reached my home on June 17, forced me out, stripped me and beat me,'' the woman alleged.

''Santosh is a ruffian who has several criminal cases registered against him in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. If police fail to take action, I will stage a sit-in,'' said Mr Bundela.

UNI