A day after a man was forced to play gong as part of punishment by a kangaroo court in Angul district, police on Friday lodged a case against 52 people, including the village head.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan criticised the incident expressing his shock over such an inhuman act taking place in a civilised society.
“I am saddened to see media reports of an elected Ward Member’s husband being forced to play gong throughout the village as part of punishment by the village court for not voting a particular candidate in the panchayat polls. He was forced to apologise in the village as he was unable to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 as fine for disobeying the village decision,” Pradhan said on his Facebook page.
“To live with dignity is everyone’s Constitutional right. While it is being violated, why stringent action is not being taken against the culpritsIJ” he questioned.
BJP State secretary Kalandi Samal said the Angul incidence indicates that the BJD is now holding kangaroo courts against those who have not voted in favour of its
candidates.
Alleging that MlA Rajanikant Singh has a direct hand in the incidence, Samal said the BJD would take to the streets if strong action is not taken against all culprits.
A team comprising BJP State vice-presidents Sameer Mohanty and Sukeshi Oram, Kalandi Samal, Golak Mohapatra, BJYM national VP Thakur Ranjit Das and others brought the matter to the notice of the State Human Rights Commission and demanded action against the errant.
The incidence occurred at Gudiapada village of Badakora panchayat under the Bantala police limits where a woman ward member and her husband were punished by the villagers in a kangaroo court for not casting vote for a BJD-supported candidate for naib sarpanch post.
Woman Ward Member Mallika Sahoo had not voted for the particular candidate, for which the villagers punished her husband Dushmant Sahoo. He was asked to pay Rs 50,000 as fine for violating the village decision.
After he expressed his inability to pay the fine, he was forced to play gong round the village to beg apology.