Police have arrested three people in a village in Bihar in Vaishali district for beating, parading and shaving the heads of a 48-year-old woman and her 19-year-old daughter for resisting molestation.
In the shocking incident that took place in Bhagawanpur village of the district, five men barged into the survivors’ house and attempted to molest them on June 26, Wednesday.
The Incident
“Around 6.30 pm, half a dozen armed men forcibly entered my house and attempted to rape me,” Scroll.in quoted the 19-year-old woman as telling the police. “When my mother tried to save me, they started beating us.”
When the women resisted, they were dragged out, beaten with sticks and their heads were shaved off in front of the entire village.
After a video of the incident began doing the rounds on social media, the accused were arrested on June 27.
Unidentified officials said that ward Councillor Mohammad Khurshid and his supporters were involved in the incident. According to Station House Officer Sanjay Kumar of the Bhagwanpur police station, the issue is being investigated.
It was Kurshid who allegedly called a barber and asked him to shave both the women’s heads. The women were then paraded around the village.
According to the women, Kurshid has been harassing the 19-year-old for several months now.
“We have arrested two men till now and looking for the rest three accused in this case. The police are doing its best to give justice to the family and we assure the investigation will be completed soon,” Zee News quoted Sanjay Kumar, Station House Officer (SHO) of the Bhagwanpur Police station, as saying.
State women’s commission has taken Suo motu cognisance of the incident has also asked for a detailed report from the police headquarters.
In a harrowing incident in February 2019, six men allegedly gang-raped a 19-year-old woman at a village in Kishanganj district of Bihar, while her father was forced to watch.
With a rise in such incidents of sexual abuse and harassment, torture and rape, it is important to execute all the safety measures promised after the Nirbhaya incident, including sensitization of police force, easier registration of complaints et al.
Also Read: Bihar: 19-Yr-Old Gang-Raped In Front Of Father; No Arrests After More Than 24 Hours
