Khunti police is on lookout for a victim of an alleged gangrape in Kurunga village of the district, a complaint regarding which was received by the SP on Friday.
The complaint letter, submitted by a third party claimed that a married woman in the village was raped by three people on July 21 but instead of taking the matter to the police, the Gram Sabha decided to let the culprits walk scot free if they pay Rs 1 lakh each as a fine to the Gram Sabha.
Khunti SP Alok said, “We have received a complaint from a third party and not the victim herself. I have directed the officer in charge of the local police station to investigate the matter and any action can be taken only if we are able to locate the victim.”
Kurunga village under Arki police station has been infamous for its involvement in the Pathalgarhi movement. Officer in charge of the police station, who has been investigating the case, informed that the victim is untraceable and none of the villagers are acknowledging that any such incident occurred. “Unless we are able to locate the woman or get any information about such an incident happening we cannot say much,” the OC said.
The OC claimed that Gram Pradhan of the village, Sagar Munda, who is an accused in the Pathalgarhi movement, is absconding and so cannot be questioned about the incident. However, local sources claimed that the gram pradhan not just lives in the village but also organizes gram sabhas every Thursday and it was him who imposed the fine of Rs 1 lakh each on the accused.
The complainant who submitted the letter to the SP belongs to Kurunga village but lives in Ranchi. Talking to The Pioneer on terms of anonymity he said, “The woman was raped on July 21 and the Gram Sabha gave the orders on July 23. The accused confessed to their crime and after beating them up, the gram pradhan imposed a fine on them and let them walk away.”
He added, “Some people did not like the idea about the culprits walking away without any punishment so contacted me about it. That is when I decided to write the letter to the SP.”
The complainant said that the three accused includes Lambu Munda alias Budhu Munda and Latiya Munda from Kurunga village and one Sheetal Munda from neighbouring village Khudapirhi.
The complainant said that he would be visiting the village in a day or two to help the police reach the victim and accused.
He said, “The Gram Pradhan and a few others have threatened the villagers as well as the Panchayat Mukhiya to not approach the police else their lives would be in danger. The victim is also not coming out to complain due to the threat.”
He added, “I will go to the village in a day or two and call a gram sabha to ensure that the victim comes forward to lodge the FIR and the accused are arrested.”