PATNA: A 26-year-old man in Bihar was brutally thrashed then shot dead by villagers on a village panchayat order for marrying a girl from a neighbouring village.
Members of the village panchayat were so determined to have the death sentence executed that they sat at the meeting site after passing the verdict, and left only after being informed that the “aberrant youth,” Himanshu Yadav, had been killed.
The shocking incident took place at Gaurachauki village in eastern Bhagalpur district late on Monday evening. Investigations by police revealed on Wednesday that instructions for the murder were passed by the village panchayat on the same evening.
“The panchayat members discussed the victim’s love marriage with a girl from a nearby village and came to the conclusion that death was his punishment,” said Bhagalpur SSP Manoj Kumar.
“Three people have been arrested so far and raids are being conducted to arrest the remaining 18 people named in the FIR,” he added.
About 25 villagers forcibly entered Himanshu Yadav’s house with wooden sticks, iron rods and rifles at about 9 PM on Monday. They dragged him outside the house and thrashed him mercilessly, shoved a rod into his back and then pumped five bullets into his chest.
Himanshu’s parents – Mita Yadav and Jelas Devi – were also severely injured in the attack, said police.
Himanshu’s crime was that he had fallen in love with and married Sony, the daughter of Paramanand Yadav, eight months ago despite protests from villagers. Sony was also severely injured after she tried to save her husband. She was then forcibly taken away by the attackers, who included her father and his brothers, said a police official.
“Even while he lay bleeding for fifteen minutes, nobody took him to hospital. They left the site, thinking he was dead,” said Avinash Yadav, Himanshu’s brother. “A police team reached after getting the information and took him to a hospital in Bhagalpur, where he was declared brought dead,” he added.