Kolkata:
At least 10 men allegedly gang-raped a 20-year-old woman in West Bengal's Birbhum district, reportedly on orders of a village kangaroo court that decided to punish her for having a relationship with a boy from a different community.
The incident took place on Monday at a village called Subalpur in Birbhum. The girl's family was reportedly first asked to pay a 'jorimana' or fine of a huge amount of money. When the family said they couldn't pay, the village headman or "morol" allegedly ordered the gang-rape.
The young tribal woman lodged a First Information Report or FIR today at the Labhpur police station and was rushed to a hospital at district headquarter Suri, the police said. According to the Press Trust of India, the woman is currently in a critical condition.
The woman has named 13 people in the FIR. The police said all the 13 accused have been arrested.
"Prima facie, she was gang-raped and we have rounded up 13 persons," Prashanta Chowdhury, Assistant Superintendent of Police, said.
Four years ago, a teenaged tribal girl was paraded naked in the same district, Birbhum, for her alleged affair with a boy from a different community, sparking a massive outrage in the state.