JOIN USPrice for 'kissing' is Rs 5,000 in UP district
A dalit girl, who was forcibly kissed on the cheek by the son of a police station ‘chowkidar’ (guard) in Gorakhpur district, about 300 km from here, was allegedly forced by the police to accept Rs 5,000 as compensation and not to press charges against the culprit. According to reports, the dalit girl, a student of 12th standard, was returning home from the college in Uruwa village in the district, when she was intercepted by the chowkidar’s son, who used to stalk her often, a few days back and was forcibly ‘kissed’ on the cheek.
The terrified girl managed to free herself from his clutches and ran towards her home to inform her parents about the incident. The shocked parents approached the police but the latter, instead of registering an FIR, asked them to “reach a compromise” with the culprit. The family of the culprit also started putting pressure on them to settle the matter and not lodge a complaint and also allegedly threatened them with dire consequences in case they insisted.
The parents tried their best but their complaint was not registered by the police, which continued to insist on some kind of settlement, reports said. The police reportedly convened a ‘panchayat’ inside the police station on Friday last in which the parties concerned and the village elders were also present. In the ‘panchayat’ the parents of the girl were allegedly forced to reach a settlement with the culprit’s family in lieu of cash payment.
“A sum of Rs 5,000 was paid to the girl’s parents as compensation and they were asked not to press charges against the culprit”, reports said adding that the victim’s parents reluctantly accepted the compensation and agreed to the conditions.