Following a Bihar village Panchayat order, a man was forced to lick his own spit and publicly beaten with slippers by two women for allegedly entering the house of an influential villager without knocking at the door first.
After the incident went viral on social media on Friday, the district administration lodged a case against eight persons. The Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal charged that law and order has collapsed in the State.
Police said Mahesh Thakur, 54, of Ajnaura village under the Noorsarai Police Station of Nalanda district, entered the house of Surendra Yadav on Wednesday evening without knocking at the door. Mr. Thakur, a barber, said he had gone to get some tobacco. Mr. Yadav, an influential villager, said Mr. Thakur had ulterior motives, as only women in the family were present in the house at the time.
On Thursday afternoon, the Panchayat held Mr. Thakur guilty.
The video that went viral on social media showed Mr. Thakur in a pale white vest and faded blue lungi, standing in the middle of a group of people sitting on red plastic chairs and a wooden cot. Two women, wearing red saris, are also seen sitting in a corner. A voice is heard asking Mahesh Thakur to say that he would not repeat his mistake again and would enter a house after knocking or giving a call, “Otherwise, you would be sent to jail”. Mr. Thakur is heard saying he would obey. Then, suddenly, someone asks him to spit on the floor and lick it five times. Visibly shaken, Mr. Thakur is seen kneeling down and doing as told. Thereafter, someone asks the two women to beat Mr. Thakur five times. The women appear reluctant, but then proceed to beat him with a slipper. One beats him four times and the other thrice.
“Prima facie it appears that Mahesh Thakur was subjected to humiliation. We have lodged a case against eight persons, including Surendra Yadav, Dharmendra Yadav and the mukhiya (headman) Dayanand Manjhi. The Noorsarai Police Station officer in-charge has been asked to investigate,” said Nalanda Superintendent of Police Sudhir Kumar Porika.
