Jharkhand: Panchayat Allegedly Fines Accused Rs 1 Lakh In 3-Year-Old's Rape Case, Money Spent On Liquor Party

A Jharkhand village panchayat attempted to resolve a three-year-old girl's rape case by fining the culprit Rs 1 lakh. The council then allegedly used the fine money for a liquor party, a heinous act that was halted by police intervention, ensuring the case would enter the proper judicial system.

A Jharkhand village panchayat has been charged with a heinous effort to resolve a three-year-old girl's rape outside of the judicial system. The culprit was allegedly fined Rs 1 lakh by the council. Even more unsettling is what transpired afterward. The panchayat allegedly spent some of the fine money on a alcohol party rather than making sure the toddler received justice. Only after the cops intervened did the "inhumane" event come to an end. This was more than a small infraction. In one of the most horrible crimes conceivable, it was a blatant attempt to evade the whole criminal justice system.

The accused, Sunil Lohara, went to the victim's home on Saturday evening. Her mother was present at the time. Lohara asked the mother to let him hold the child while she went about her tasks, then took the girl to another room, where he raped her. When the child, injured and distressed, began crying, her mother rushed to her. The child was first taken to see a private doctor. Rather than the case going straight to the police, the matter was taken up by the village Panchayat. Some members reportedly wanted to keep the case within the village rather than reporting it.

The accused was fined Rs 1 lakh during a meeting on Sunday, ostensibly to resolve the issue locally rather than through the legal system. Of that amount, the offender paid Rs 20,000. The council then held a party with meat and beer using these funds. According to reports, the accused was instructed to pay the remaining Rs 80,000 within a week.

According to Mohan Kumar, the in-charge of the Ghaghra police station, officials were informed that the case was being suppressed by the locals and that internal pressure prevented it from getting to the police station.

After after, Ghaghra police visited the area and filed a complaint based on the victim's mother's account. The defendant was taken into custody.

It's a terrifying trivialisation of child sexual abuse. Fortunately, the cops stepped in and stopped this startling "settlement" from being the last word. Their participation guarantees that the lawsuit will, hopefully, now move on through the appropriate legal procedures, where it should have from the start.