A woman in Bihar's Begusarai district was allegedly forced to lick sputum before a village panchayat after accusing a neighbour of rape, sparking outrage following the circulation of a viral video on social media.
A woman in Bihar's Begusarai district was allegedly forced to lick sputum before a village panchayat after accusing a neighbour of rape, sparking outrage following the circulation of a viral video on social media. The survivor, a mother of two from a village under the Balia police station limits, alleged that she was raped by her neighbour on two separate occasions. However, instead of receiving support, she claimed the village panchayat branded her as having an illicit relationship with the accused and subjected her to a degrading public punishment.
The incident reportedly took place on June 5 but remained out of public view until a video of the alleged humiliation surfaced online on Saturday. Following the uproar, police registered an FIR on July 31.
The viral video purportedly shows the woman holding her ears, kneeling on an open ground and being forced to lick sputum while a crowd of villagers watches. None of those present appeared to intervene.
Related Articles
"The veracity of the video is being examined. The rape accused is absconding. Police will take action against the guilty persons if the video is found to be genuine," Begusarai DSP (HQ) Nikhil Kumar said.
In her complaint, the survivor, identified as Ruchi (name changed), alleged that her neighbour, Nitish, forcibly raped her inside her home on the nights of June 2 and June 4.
She further claimed that villagers spotted the accused leaving her house after one of the alleged assaults but, instead of confronting him, held her responsible for the incident. Her husband, who works as a labourer in Tamil Nadu, was informed about the alleged assault over the phone after she initially remained silent.
Ruchi also alleged that she was ordered to lick sputum in the presence of Sanjay Yadav, the son of the local ward councillor, and the accused's mother.
She further accused the local police of initially refusing to register her complaint when she and her husband approached the police station. According to her, the FIR was finally lodged only after the video of the incident went viral.
