India Woman Stripped Naked And Paraded On Donkey For Murder

An Indian woman from the village of Rajsamand, a northern rural community in the world's most populated country, was stripped naked and paraded on a donkey through her village after being accused of killing her nephew.

Members of the village also blackened her face with coal dust and cut her hair following orders from a local council of elders in Rajasthan, the police said.

The punishment came from the council of elders who found her guilty of killing the nephew who died some time earlier. Thirty nine people, mostly members of the village in Rajsamand district, have been arrested over the incident, additional superintendent of police Sudhir Joshi said.

The woman aged around 40 years, was in her house when some villagers stormed into the house and pulled her out on Saturday evening.

The police said:

They cut her hair, blackened her face and stripped her half naked. Then they mounted her on a donkey and paraded her in the village for ten minutes.

It was after a meeting of the panchayat (village elders). The cruel punishment was meted out to the woman just on a suspicion.

Councils made up of village elders, usually known as 'khap panchayats', are common in rural parts of India, especially in the north, where they are often accused of dispensing 'Taliban-style justice'.

Although orders from the panchayats carry no legal weight, they are widely respected in rural areas.

Senior police official Shweta Dhankhad reported that a 45-year-old man, Vardi Singh, had killed himself in Thurawad village on November 2.

But just three days after the man's funeral, his wife and other relatives reported to the police that Mr Singh had been killed by his aunt.

They later approached the village council, who believed the family's version of events and ordered a series of humiliating punishments - including having her head shaved.

Initially, she was even afraid to talk about what had happened to her but after the police and officials from the social welfare department arrived, she was able to feel a little safe and narrate her ordeal.

Instances of public shaming are common in India and women can be stripped and paraded naked as a form of humiliation and punishment.