BHUBANESWAR: A Minor boy was assaulted, abused and made to kneel down on Wednesday by a kangaroo court organised by members of a mahila sangha who held him guilty of hitting another boy, in the Capital city.
They also directed the mother of the boy to pay a fine of `5,501 or face social boycott. Three members of the mahila sangha have been arrested in the connection.The incident took place on September 19 at Salia Sahi when the victim, a resident of Maruti Vihar in the slum, had a scuffle with another local boy.
To sort out the issue, the local mahila sangha members - Kabita Bhuyan, Anita Nayak, Sarojini Sahoo and their other associates - convened a meeting at Hanuman Mandir in the slum on Wednesday. They asked the boy and his mother to attend the meeting which saw an attendance of over 100 locals.
Nayapalli Police said that the accused women hurled abuses, slapped and hit him with their fists besides, forcing him to kneel down in front of everyone. They further asked the minor boy to place basalt stones under his knees while kneeling down, which he refused. Holding him guilty, they directed his mother to cough up `5,501 as fine, failing which they would boycott her family.
On receiving a complaint from the victim’s mother, police registered a case under sections 294, 323, 341, 355, 506 and 34 of IPC and Section 75 of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. Kabita, Anita and Sarojini were arrested from the slum.
Police further informed that investigations revealed that members of the group collect money from the slum dwellers to settle petty disputes and pronounce their own verdicts. They also collect money by threatening drug peddlers in the locality. Efforts are on to ascertain whether any other member of the group was involved in the crime and necessary action will be taken accordingly.