Man rapes niece, let off by panchayat with fine of Rs 40K

Panchayats in Uttar Pradesh continue to let off rape accused after imposing fines.

In a shocking incident, a panchayat in UP’s Amroha district, about 350 kilometers from here, let off a man who had allegedly raped his own niece, after imposing a fine on him and asked the victim’s family not to approach the police for registration of a case in this connection.

According to reports, the victim, a minor, had been repeatedly sexually exploited by her uncle, who had threatened her with dire consequences if she dared to tell her parents about the same.

The culprit was, however, caught by the victim’s family with the minor on Friday night but he managed to escape. Since the alleged culprit was a member of the family, the elders in the village intervened and asked them to settle the matter through a panchayat.

A panchayat was convened on Saturday and after much deliberations it decided to let off the accused after paying a fine of Rs 40,000 to the victim’s family to which he readily agreed.
In exchange, the family was asked not to file any complaint with the police.

Panchayats in the state are known for their bizarre decisions to settle cases of sexual exploitation. Barely a few days ago, a panchayat had imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on a 45-year old man, who had allegedly fathered a child through an illegitimate relationship with a 17-year old girl and settled the matter.

The panchayat had also directed the man to pay a monthly allowance of Rs 5,000 to the girl.
The child was left in the custody of the mother on the condition that she would hand him over to his biological father when he attains adulthood.
It barred the girl from marrying until her son turned 18.