Bantala: Police booked 52 people in Bantala area of Angul district Friday for allegedly forcing a resident Dushmant Sahu and his son Samir Sahu to beat gongs and take a round of Rugudiapada village to “atone” for their so-called “wrong actions.” It was a kangaroo court that reportedly asked the two to do this.
Among the 52 villagers booked were village committee president Hemanata Gadnayak and secretary Jyotiranjan Acharya. Based on a directive from collector Anil Kumar Samal, a special team started a probe into the incident. Police registered a case suo motu Thursday night as the villagers had acted in alleged violation of the human rights of Dushmant Sahu and his family members.
Dushmant along with some BJP activists lodged a complaint at the police station Friday.
Angul BDO Jayat Kumar Prusty, ABDO Bijay Kumar Meher, GPO Manoj Kumar Lal, Badkera sarpanch Bijaylaxmi Patnaik, panchayat executive officer Niranjan Dehuri and police officials visited the village and recorded the statements of the villagers. The BDO said that statements of villagers were recorded on instruction from the collector.
The incident came to the fore after members of some political groups told TV channels that the two were tortured by the villagers as Mallika Sahu, wife of Dushmant, did not vote for a naib sarpanch candidate supported by the villagers during the last panchayat elections. Dushmant and his son Samir brandishing an axe had allegedly threatened to kill some villagers June 28 and 29.
A meeting was held Wednesday where Samir and his father apologized for their actions. The villagers asked them to decide about the punishment they should be given for tarnishing the image of the village.
Dushmant, his wife and Samir expressed their inability to pay a penalty due to their poverty. It was then decided that instead they will move around the village beating gongs to “atone for their wrong actions.” PNN
