Parody of justice:

Sisters sentenced to public rape, naked parade
Amnesty International has called on Indian authorities to ensure the safety of 23-year-old Meenakshi Kumar and her 15-year-old sister after a village council sentenced them to be gang-raped and paraded around the village naked with blackened faces as punishment for their brother’s actions. The all-male council, the Khap Panchayat, made the ruling in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, after their brother, Ravi, ran away with a married woman from the village’s dominant Jat caste. The sisters and their family belong to the bottom of India’s society, the Dalit caste, historically known as the ‘Untouchables’.
    According to family sources, Ravi and Krishna, both in their early twenties, had been in a love relationship for two years when both families did their best to keep them apart. Krishna’s family warned Ravi severally, beat up Krishna a lot and later forced her into a loveless marriage. At first, Ravi encouraged her to go on with the marriage. He later eloped with her after she ran away from her one-month marriage, with claims of being unhappy and treated as a maid.
    Under threat, the Kumar family has fled the village to seek refuge in the home of the Meenakshi’s elder brother, a police constable in Delhi. Meenakshi has filed a petition to India’s Supreme Court and applied to the police for protection while Amnesty International has written to the Prime Minister, Human Rights Commission and Schedule Caste Commission, but no help is forthcoming while the villagers only grow more aggressive.

    After over 230.000 persons signed Amnesty’s online petition calling for the safeguarding of the girls, the Khap Panchayat denied that they ordered the rape sentence and are calling on the Kumar family to apologise for spreading false rumours about them.
    In an interview with the BBC, Krishna’s family also refuted allegations that there was ever a love relationship between Ravi and Krishna. They claimed that Krishna did not leave her matrimonial home willingly, and has returned there.
Ironically, a member of Krishna’s family has warned that the council comprises powerful people from the Jat caste, including Krishna’ relatives, and thus, its decision cannot be opposed. Amnesty International also states that they have investigated and corroborated events.
    It is claimed that the couple surrendered and returned after alleged torture by family members. Ravi is in jail, arrested on a drug charge instigated by Krishna’s family. Amnesty International has asked for independent investigations into the accusations against him.
    Meanwhile, Meenakshi says she is scared and can’t sleep properly after fleeing to a secret location in Delhi. ‘How will we ever return home to our village,’ she asks. ‘If we ever return, they will harm us or rape us; if not today, then in the future. Jats never forget and they will not forget this humiliation. They want their revenge. Loving someone is not wrong.’