'Kukudi' rituals: Police begin crackdown on caste-based panchayats in Rajasthan's Bhilwara

Taking serious note of the Kukudi rituals, a social evil entrenched in Rajasthan, Bhilwara Superintendent of Police Adarsh Sindu has initiated legal action against the culprits. The crackdown on such social evils or unlawful activities will continue, said the SP.

Jaipur (Rajasthan): Taking cognizance against Kukudi rituals prevalent in Rajasthan society, Bhilwara police have begun a crackdown on caste-based or community panchayats responsible for promoting such social evils in society. Recently, a married woman hailing from Subhashnagar locality in the Bhilwara district of Rajasthan was asked to undergo Kukudi rituals to prove her virginity. While cohabiting with her husband, she failed her test. Now, sensing that her marriage would be on the rocks, the victim spilled the beans. The woman told her relatives that the youth next door, before her marriage, outraged her modesty. Alarmed over the incident that the matter will be taken up by the caste-based panchayat for the settlement, the woman's relative brought the matter to the notice of Bhilwara police.

Bhilwara SP Adarsh Sindhu said, "The matter was brought to our notice on May 23, 2022. An FIR has been registered in this connection. A woman had lodged a rape case against a person. The victim has stated in the FIR that the accused, around seven to eight months ago, established physical contact with her without taking her consent. The accused has been rounded up in the matter, besides medical and other legal procedures have been initiated in the case."

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Suman Devathiya, a social activist, said, "I learnt about the incident through ETV Bharat. Shockingly, a woman was raped and now she was subjected to another humiliation and torture. Now, she was found guilty under the Kukudi ritual the social evil, which is prevalent in Rajasthan. Members of the caste-based panchayat had issued diktats and were responsible for violating the human rights of the victim woman. Hence, I urge the local police to take immediate action in the matter."

Members of the caste-based panchayats in Rajasthan, on the other hand, were preparing, to slap a fine on the victim for failing to qualify for the Kukadi test, asking her relatives to cough up a huge sum of money to settle the matter with the husband's family. These so-called illegal courts punish victims by slapping a hefty sum of money as a fine. The victim women are subjected to physical and mental torture when they are produced before such unlawful panchayats. These panchayats violate the human rights of a woman with impunity.