A man was forced by a kangaroo court in Odisha's Angul district today to go around a village beating a gong and 52 people were booked by police in connection with it.
The village head was among the 52 people against whom a case was registered in the incident at Badakera panchayat, the police said.
The village committee had taken the decision on punishing Dushmant Sahu, the husband of a ward member, on Wednesday for not voting in favour of a particular candidate in the election for the post of naib sarpanch.
Sahu was ordered to pay Rs 50,000 as penalty or go around the village beating a gong as punishment. Sahu said he agreed to go around the village beating the gong as he was not in a position to pay the fine, the police said.
Expressing shock over the incident, BJP leader and Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said "everybody has the right to live with dignity. Such an act is totally unacceptable in a civil society."
BJP Odisha unit secretary Kalandi Samal told reporters in Bhubaneswar that ruling BJD leaders were behind the kangaroo court order. He alleged that the punishment was ordered as he had not voted for the BJD nominee.
BJP activists also staged a demonstration outside the district collector's office in Angul demanding immediate arrest of the accused persons.
The incident evoked sharp reaction from other ward members who described the act as inhuman and illgal.
Naib sarpanch Bidyadhara Prusty said issues related to the rural elections had been sorted out, but during a meeting held on Wednesday the villagers asked Sahu either to pay the fine or go around beating the gong as punishment.
Action should be taken against the villagers who resorted to the method, he added.
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