In a horrific incident, a woman was paraded naked in her village in Vantamuri near Karnataka’s Belagavi city, after her son left the place with a girl. The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, December 11, after the boy and girl eloped on the night of December 10. The Belagavi police have arrested seven people, while two individuals are currently at large.
The family of the 18-year-old girl was opposed to her relationship with the boy and reportedly planned to get her married to another man, leading her to flee town with her 24-year-old partner. When her family learned that the couple had eloped, enraged family members barged inside the boy’s residence and ransacked it. They broke the tiles of the roof by pelting stones and then dragged the mother outside the house. She was then stripped naked and paraded in the village.
“The couple eloped at 12:30 am. The girl’s parents and relatives went to the boy’s house and tied her to the pole and treated her inhumanly. We got the information at 4 am and our team immediately arrived at the spot and seven people were arrested. Two more people are absconding. We will speak to the victim and get more information,” Belagavi Police Commissioner SN Siddaramappa told the media.
Home Minister G Parameshwara rushed to visit the victim at the Belagavi District Hospital and inquired about her condition. After noting the details of the incident, he visited her house at Vantamuri Village. Parameshwara also spoke to the grandmother of the youth who eloped, as well as his neighbours. He stated that efforts were being made to track the lovers.
“This kind of act will not bring respect to anyone and legal action against the perpetrators of the crime will be initiated. The victim is traumatised by the incident. This is an unfortunate incident and legal action will be taken,” Parameshwara added.
Reacting to the incident, CM Siddaramaiah took to social media and said, “A woman was stripped naked, tied to a pole and assaulted in Belgaum is extremely inhumane. This has made the whole society dizzy. Our government will not tolerate such heinous acts for any reason. Many people have already been arrested in connection with the case. It is our full responsibility to provide justice to the aggrieved family by taking action to ensure that the culprits are punished severely.”