A three-year-old girl was allegedly raped in Palma village, Gumla district. What happened next is the part that should shock the nation: instead of calling the police, a village panchayat allegedly tried to settle the crime privately — slapping the accused with a Rs 1 lakh fine, and using part of that money to throw a feast of meat and liquor while the child lay injured.
Police only found out because one brave villager broke the silence and tipped them off.
What Happened
According to police, the accused — identified as Sunil Lohra — went to the child’s house around 4 pm on Saturday. The girl’s mother was home and busy with chores when Lohra allegedly offered to keep an eye on the toddler for her. Minutes later, the mother heard her daughter crying, rushed into the room, and found her bleeding.
This is where the case should have gone straight to the police. It didn’t.
The Cover-Up
Instead of an FIR, the matter was allegedly taken to the village panchayat. Some panchayat members first took the child to a private doctor — not a police-linked medical examination, a private one — and then held a meeting the next day, Sunday, to “resolve” the matter internally.
Their solution: a Rs 1 lakh fine on the accused.
He allegedly paid Rs 20,000 on the spot. That money was then allegedly used to fund a celebratory feast — meat and liquor — for those involved in the meeting. The remaining Rs 80,000 was to be paid within a week.
A three-year-old had just been raped. And a section of the village was reportedly celebrating a deal.
How It Fell Apart
The plan only collapsed because someone in the village secretly alerted the police. A team rushed to Palma and arrived while the feast — funded by the accused’s own “fine” — was still underway. Lohra was arrested on the spot, mid-celebration. Police recorded the mother’s statement and registered an FIR.
The Village Head Distances Himself
Lodo Ekka, the Mukhiya (village head) of Arangi Panchayat, has claimed he had no idea the meeting was even happening. “I was not informed about this meeting. I came to know about it only after the police reached the village and the matter came to light,” he said.
That raises an uncomfortable question: if the village head didn’t know, who exactly organised and ran this backroom “justice”?
