Caste council strips, beats woman, paramour in Rajasthan

The members of a village caste council in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district beat and stripped a married woman and her boyfriend publicly after tying them to a tree over their illicit relationship Sunday, police said.

When a police team tried to rescue the couple, the villagers pelted stones on the policemen also, they added.

The incident took place at Kolar village near Sarada town in Udaipur, some 400 kilometers from Jaipur.

The officer said that the villagers located the couple Saturday evening and held a caste council meeting to decide upon the punishment for them having illicit relations.

“Prakash Meena, 25, had an illicit relationship with a married woman in the village. They had eloped about 10 days ago,” said a police officer.

“In front of the crowd of hundreds of villagers, Prakash and woman were tied to a tree and stripped. They were then beaten up,” said the officer. A police team rescued the couple almost after four hours.

“The couple are under police protection. We have registered cases against council members and the villagers and are trying to arrest them,” said the officer.