Members of a panchayat in Bihar's Gaya district 'punished' a gang-raped minor girl by tonsuring her head and parading her through the village, a police officer said here on Wednesday.
The 15-year-old was kidnapped by some residents on August 14 and gang-raped, sources in the police headquarters said.
The girl told her parents who approached the panchayat for justice two days later.
The panchayat members accused the girl of making unfounded allegations against the accused who, the police said, enjoyed clout in the area. To punish her, they tonsured her head and paraded her through the village, the police added.
The survivor and her parents lodged a telephone complaint with the office of the director-general of police a week after the panchayat's action.
Six people, of them five members of the panchayat, were arrested on August 26 after recording statements of the girl and her parents, Mohanpur station house officer Ravi Bhushan said.
Gaya mahila thana in-charge Ravi Ranjana said the six have been sent to judicial custody for 14 days after being produced in court while the girl's statement was recorded before a magistrate after her medical examination.
She said the girl has identified one of the accused.
The state women’s commission has written to the Gaya police chief, demanding speedy justice to the survivor.
'It is a very serious matter. We have asked the Gaya SSP to ensure that the accused are awarded strict punishment and the victim gets justice. We have asked the five panchayat members to appear before us and explain why such an inhuman treatment was meted out to a minor girl,' commission chairperson Dilmani Mishra said.