Nabarangpur: A man was made to do sit-ups in public as punishment by the former Sarpanch of Hatibeda Panchayat under Papadahandi block of Nabarangpur district for allegedly spreading a rumour in the latter’s name. The incident came to the fore after video of the act went viral on social media.
According to sources, former Sarpanch Ram Majhi’s mother-in-law had passed away recently, following which he had invited the villagers to attend the funeral and ‘Ekadasha’ ceremony (tenth –day ritual). One Jadu Bhatra of the village allegedly spread a rumour that whoever attends the ceremonies will have to pay Rs 500. Jadu later left for Cuttack for some personal work.
But when he returned from Cuttack, Majhi called him up and scolded him claiming that many villagers skipped the ceremonies due to the rumours spread by him. Holding Jadu responsible for tarnishing his image, the ex-Sarpanch asked Jadu to do sit-ups five times holding his ears.
Refuting the allegations, Jadu said “I was going to attend the funeral, when a villager stopped me and said that I will have to donate Rs 500 if I attend the event. I did not believe him and attended the funeral and later went to Cuttack for some work.”
“When I asked, Jadu said he has not said anything to anybody. But when I investigated the matter, the villagers said Jadu told them about the payment. Later I called him and asked him to do sit-ups,” alleged Majhi.