Family members and relatives console the grieving mother of the youth who allegedly died by suicide following the imposition of a fine over his relationship with a married woman. (DC Image)

A 22-year-old youth allegedly died by suicide in Odisha’s Malkangiri district after a village meeting reportedly imposed a fine of Rs 45,000 on him over his relationship with a married woman, triggering allegations of assault and the functioning of an informal “kangaroo court.”

The deceased was identified as Sagar Sarkar, a resident of MV-92 village in the district.

According to his family, Sagar had developed a relationship with a married woman while working in Andhra Pradesh and later brought her to his village. Following this, a village meeting was reportedly convened to settle the matter.

Sagar’s family alleged that he was assaulted during the meeting and subsequently ordered to pay a fine of Rs 45,000. The woman was reportedly sent back to her husband.

Sagar’s brother, Rakesh Sarkar, alleged that villagers had assured the family that the matter would be resolved amicably. However, he claimed that Sagar was beaten during the meeting and a hefty penalty was imposed on him.

“My brother then went inside the house, locked himself in the room and committed suicide,” Rakesh alleged.

However, village committee president Ramakrushna Sil denied that Sagar was assaulted during the meeting. He said the gathering had only decided that the woman should return to her husband.

“None of us beat him. His father might have beaten him. There might have been some family harassment due to which he would have committed suicide,” Sil said.

Following the incident, personnel from Malkangiri Adarsh Police Station reached the village and took custody of the body for investigation.

Police have launched a probe into the circumstances surrounding Sagar’s death, as well as the allegations regarding the village meeting, the reported assault and the imposition of the fine.

Tags: