Balangir: Police on Monday registered a case against eight villagers for cutting the hair of a woman and trying to strip her naked in full public view.
The eight people, including three women of Karakachia village in Loisingha police station limits of the districtm misbehaved with the victim on allegations of an extra-martial affair. Though a case been registered based on a formal complaint lodged by the victim, no one has been arrested yet in the case.
Sources said some villagers had called a meeting - basically a kangaroo court -where she was "indicted". She was, however, let off with a warning.
On June 3, some villagers, including women, caught hold of her on the village road and cut off some of her hair. They also tried to strip her naked to shame her.
The woman said she had been punished for no fault.
"I was called to the meeting where I was forced to admit the misdeed. Initially, I refused because I had done no wrong," she said.
"But when they threatened me and I was compelled to admit it fearing for my life," she said, adding that that she had thought the villagers were over with it after the meeting."
"But on June 3, some villagers attacked me and cut my hair. They also tried to strip me."
The woman and her family were asked to keep mum and they could not gather courage to lodge a police complaint for eight days.
The husband and in-laws of the victim woman have no problem and support her fight against the accused.
The woman's husband had accompanied her when she went to lodge the formal police complaint.
Inspector in charge of Loisingha police station Lilima Barla said: "We have registered a case against the accused persons."
"The villagers had dispute with the woman over allegation of illicit relationship that was sorted out in a meeting. The woman, however, has alleged that one Kiran Gadtia and her family members with some other villagers had tortured her in the village by cutting her hair and tried to strip her naked. We are investigating the complaint and action will be taken in due course."
