55-year old Dalit widow paraded naked in Punjab village

Amritsar, Sep 9 (UNI) A 55-year old Dalit widow was paraded naked and then tied to a tree by members of her community in Ram Diwali village in Amritsar (rural) district this morning.

Four people identified as Shingara Singh, Gurmit Singh, Rattan Singh and Amarjit Kaur were taken into custody by the police team which arrived in the village and freed the hapless woman.

They have been booked under sections 452, 354, 342, 509, 323, 148, 149 and 120-B of the IPC.

Giving details, SSP Iqbal Singh said that the widow was first beaten and then stripped naked and paraded in the village.

Thereafter she was tied to a tree and was only freed when a police team from Kathunangal police station arrived in the village on getting information of the incident, he added.

The SSP said prime accused Shingara Singh's daughter had eloped with a nephew of the widow last month. Infuriated over the incident Shingara had sworn to take revenge on the family of the boy.

Mr Iqbal Singh said that Shingara along with his family members and other members of his community went to the house of the widow this morning. After beating her, they blackened her face, stripped her naked and paraded her in the village, he added.

The accused then tied her to a tree and left her there, he said.

The SSP said village panchayat members are also being questioned as none of them came to the rescue of the victim. He did not rule out the possibility of further arrests in the case.

UNI