A 35-year-old Anganawadi worker was beaten and paraded naked by a sarpanch and his aides at a Kendrapada village as "punishment" for lodging a police complaint against their extortion bid.
The barbaric incident took place at Nadiabarei village in the Patakura police station area on Wednesday, police said after registering cases against the accused.
The victim told police that the sarpanch, Bibhuti Parida, and his henchmen had several times demanded rice, dal and baby food allocated for poor villagers. On Tuesday, when she refused to give in, they abused her in filthy language. This prompted her to lodge a police complaint against Parida and some of his aides.
"The sarpanch, who enjoys the backing of some influential politicians, was furious because I had dared to lodge a complaint against him. He along with three of his men barged into my house, dragged me out and then shackled my hands. They started raining blows on me. The four men then stripped me and forced me to walk through the village," the victim said. "They threatened my husband and some other villagers with dire consequences when they tried to rescue me from the extreme humiliation," she added.
Several women activists on Wednesday visited the village and met the victim and her husband. The activists shot off letters to the State Women's Commission, the State Human Rights Commission and the chief minister, demanding exemplary action against the accused. They alleged that police were shielding the culprits because of political pressure.
Police, however, rubbished the allegations. "We have filed a case against the sarpanch and others under several sections of the IPC. All the accused are absconding and we are conducting raids to catch them," officer in-charge (Patakura police station) Alok Ranjan Ray said.
