[VIDEO] Panchayat forces man, woman to lick spit in Bihar's Purnia over alleged affair

Patna: Police in Bihar's Purnia district have registered a case against five residents of Baruna village in Sirsia panchayat for allegedly assaulting a couple and forcing them to lick spit. Preliminary reports suggest that the couple's punishment was dictated by a panchayat. Meanwhile, a video of the appalling incident is going viral on social media platforms.

The incident took place on November 10 of this year when the victim, Manish Yadav went to a friend's residence to charge his cell phone. This is when a group of locals mobbed him and began questioning him about his purported affair with a married woman from Baruna village. The group of men held Yadav hostage and a panchayat was called by Visho Singh and Sanjay Mandal. While the former is the husband of the Mukhiya, the latter identifies himself as the Sarpanch's husband.

With no room for deliberation and clarity, Yadav and his friend's wife were thrashed with sticks and forced to lick spit from the floor. The group then asked the complainant to pay a fine of ₹51,000 for committing adultery. However, police officials familiar with the matter said that Yadav was let off after he paid the assailants an amount of ₹11,000.

The matter came to light only this week after a video of the incident went into wide circulation on social media. Police took cognizance of the video and lodged an FIR against five persons who have been identified by name. Raids are being conducted to nab those named in the FIR and further investigation into the matter is underway, said sub-divisional police officer (Dhamdaha), Prem Sagar.

A similar incident had come to light from Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district in September of this year. A couple was brutally thrashed in a field near Salimpur road in Kandhla area of the district by four men. All of the accused were arrested by police and questioned after a video of the incident went viral on social media. In July, a couple was thrashed in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh allegedly for marrying against the wishes of their family members. Such was the nature of the assault that the couple was hospitalised for treatment. The couple had fled the district around the same time last year in order to get married. Police officials rescued the woman and registered a case in this regard under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).