Woman allegedly beaten and harassed by kangaroo court in Odisha’s Nayagarh

A kangaroo court in Mahulapada village under Fatehgarh police station in Nayagarh district allegedly harassed a woman over a land-related dispute, eventually forcing her to leave the village.

A woman, identified as Manjulata Pradhan, alleged that she was harassed and beaten outside her house by some villagers when she and her family opposed them from cutting down a tree on their premises.

The woman had reportedly begun constructing a house on land allocated under the state government’s Basundhara scheme and also planted some trees in the area.

However, local villagers labeled the land as government property and attempted to cut down those trees. Following opposition from her family, a dispute arose and the matter was heard in a kangaroo court of the village.

Subsequently, the kangaroo court ruled in favour of the villagers and also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the woman. However, Pradhan alleged that since she was unable to pay the fine instantly, the villagers beat her and her husband while also cutting essential supplies for her family.

ALSO READ: 2 persons humiliated & punished in kangaroo court in Bolangir, video goes viral

“They asked us to cut down the trees and also pay a fine of Rs 10,000. When I was unable to pay it, the villagers cut off the water supply to our house while also thrashing me and my husband after dragging us out of our house,” she claimed.

Moreover, she also alleged that the villagers threatened her against speaking of this decision and warned of a fine of Rs 5,000 if she or her family does so. She also alleged that though she reached out to the Khandapada police and lodged a complaint, no action was taken by the cops.

ALSO READ: Woman tonsured, ostracised in kangaroo court trial; 4 arrested in Jharsuguda

Meanwhile, Bimala Kumar Barik, the SDPO of Khandapada refuted the claims and said that the story was fabricated.

“Our ground team thoroughly investigated the matter and conducted on-site probes. However, the woman’s statements appear convoluted and in complete contrast to eye-witness statements. We tried reaching out to her several times to settle the matter but she refused,” he added.