A tribal village sarpanch in Chhota Udaipur district of Gujarat allegedly humiliated an 18-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl for eloping, a police official said.
The incident, which took place in Devaliya village of tribal-dominated Chhota Udaipur district 15 days ago, came to light on Thursday after a video of the episode surfaced, Chhota Udaipur police inspector R.S. Bariya said. Police lodged a complaint on Friday against 12 people and arrested five, he said.
In the video, Devaliya village sarpanch Soniyabhai Rathva is seen asking the teenagers to do sit-ups holding each other’s ears in front of a large gathering, including some tribal leaders, who acted as a “panch,” Mr. Bariya said.
The sarpanch allegedly asked the boy to sit on the girl’s shoulder and “we learned that the girl was forced to act like a horse and to run carrying the boy. The sarpanch also collected a fine of Rs. 5,000 from the girl’s parents and Rs. 10,000 from the boy’s parents,” Mr. Bariya said.
