Bihar: Panchayat offers Rs 2 lakh to rape victim to suppress case

The panchayat of Mainatand in Bihar's West Champaran district asked the 14-year-old rape victim's mother to take the amount fixed by it in order to suppress the issue.

Bettiah (Bihar): A panchayat in Bihar has ordered a minor rape victim to take Rs 2 lakhs and suppress the matter, police said on Monday. The panchayat of Mainatand in Bihar's West Champaran district asked the 14-year-old rape victim's mother to take the amount fixed by it in order to suppress the issue.

The mother of the victim lodged a complaint with the police regarding the matter. In the complaint, the mother said, "On December 9 at around 10 pm, my daughter went to the washroom built outside the house. At that time, 22-year-old Shailendra Kumar of the village ambushed and forcibly took my daughter to a sugarcane field and raped her."

"My daughter came back home at eight o'clock in the morning and narrated the whole incident. But some members of the panchayat ordered to hush up the matter. I was ordered by the panchayat to take Rs 2 lakhs to keep my mouth shut. But I am reaching out to the police seeking justice," the mother said. Bettiah SP Upendra Verma said, "The accused has been arrested in the rape case." On the other hand, Purushottampur Police Station chief Sanjay Kumar said, "Action is being taken to send the victim to Bettiah for medical examination."