Haryana khap panchayat's bizarre punishment for child molester triggers outrage

Mumbai: Five shoe slaps- that was the punishment ordered by a kangaroo court in Haryana on Friday to a 23-year-old man who was held for molesting a seven-year-old girl.

The incident happened in Diwana village of Fatehabad district in Haryana, where the accused Sanjay Kumar works as a shopkeeper. The victim and her four-year-old cousin had been to his shop to buy candies when Sanjay took the two children inside closed doors and molested the minor, reports said.

On being told about the incident, the victim's parents contacted the local panchayat officials who called for a Khap meeting on the premises of a veterinary hospital, where they ordered that the accused be slapped five times by the shoe. It also ordered him not to attend any public gathering and stay away from the village lanes.

Sanjay's family was initially incepting of the order but had to comply later as they were threatened with police complaint. Sanjay's uncle was made to slap his head with a shoe five times as his father was away.

But the victim’s father maintains that though the punishment is paltry, he did not want to challenge the khap’s jurisdiction.

The police visited the village on Saturday, and spoke to the panchayat members, family members of the accused and the victim in order to settle he case.