Nayagarh: There is no end to the suffering of Laxmidhar Bantha, who along with his family has been subjected to torture of a village kangaroo court. The village mafias are not allowing him to set foot on his village, forcing the family to stay outside.
The kangaroo court took away his harvest. Although police promised to help him relocate to his village, they are not coming to his rescue citing Covid time restrictions.
Laxmidhar of Kendudhipi village under Itamati police station works in Kerala.
His two sons also work outside the state. The three together remit between Rs25,000 and Rs 30,000 to Rupa, wife of Laxmidhar, who stayed alone in the village.
Rupa would lend money to co-villagers who approach her when they needed cash. In January, 2020, Rupa died.
Laxmidhar and his two sons returned to the village to perform her last rites. After the rituals were over, some villagers approached Laxmidhar and claimed her wife has borrowed money from them and they want return of money.
The three were shocked to learn that Rupa had taken money on loan when they sent large amounts of money to her. They did not believe the demand of the villagers and refused to repay the so called loans.
On April 24, 2020, the same group of people armed with sharp weapons barged into the home of Laxmidhar.
They forcibly took away paddy, and other food grains stored in the house. Even though Laxmidhar approached police the later did not come to his rescue.
The police’s silence emboldened the rogues and they again forced their entry into the house of Laxmidhar and took away whatever was stored in the house.
This time they evicted the family from their own house. The goons did not stop at that, they tied Laxmidhar to an electric pole in the village. On tip-off, police reached the village and rescued Laxmidhar.
However, even after complaints were lodged with police, the later did not take action against the culprits named in the complaint. Later, the kangaroo court members again looted the belongings from Laxmidhar’s home.
This time, Laxmidhar lodged a case at the SDJM court (Case No IIC 83/20). Meanwhile, Laxmidhar has moved the state human rights commission against the kangaroo court.
Laxmidhar along with his family has been forced to live outside his home for over a year now, seeking justice.
PNN
