KEONJHAR: Resenting the inaction of the police, locals paraded two youths accused of stealing grain around the village with half of their moustaches shaved and their faces blackened, as per the diktat of a kangaroo court in Dimirimunda village on Monday.
The dehumanizing incident occurred in Bhimkanda gram panchayat of Keonjhar. The two youths were first garlanded with shoes before angry villagers cut half of their moustaches and colored their faces with black ink. The incident grabbed the attention of the entire district. According to sources, the youths, Babuli Padhan and Akhi Padhan, stole eight packets of grain by breaking the window of Suresh Padhan’s house late on Sunday night. At around 11 pm, when the family was sleeping, Babuli and Akhi took the grain packets. Upon hearing the noise, the Padhan family woke up, caught hold of the two, and detained them in the village mandap for the rest of the night. They then called the police, but the cops did not respond.
On Monday morning, the villagers decided to take matters into their own hands. When the police failed to arrive, the villagers convened a court and handed out punishment to the two.
A few days ago, in a similar incident, a young man was 'tried' in a kangaroo court for molesting a girl in a village under the Telkoi police station. His face was blackened, and with a shoe garland around his neck, the accused was paraded around the village, seeking forgiveness.