Assam Couple Beaten Up All Night, Woman's Head Shaved in Another Moral Policing Case

Guwahati/Nagaon: In another apparent case of moral policing, a couple was allegedly beaten up night-long and the woman's head shaved by villagers for having an 'illicit affair' in Assam's Nagaon district, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place at Jhumurmur on Saturday and the critically injured couple was handed over to the police on Sunday morning, they said. The police arrested eight persons for assaulting and confining the Muslim mand and the Hindu woman alleging that they had an illicit relationship.

They were initially admitted to a local hospital at Kathiatoli, and later referred to the Bhogeswari Phukanani Civil Hospital at Nagaon, a police officer said.
"The police were intimated by some people during morning hours. Our team rushed to the spot and the villagers handed over them to us. They were badly injured and were admitted to a hospital," Nagaon district Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ripul Das told PTI.

The police statement said villagers of Jumurmur assaulted local resident Devi Barua and Ubed Ullah of Tubuki village nearby and confined them in a structure near the woman's house. He said the police will register a case after preliminary investigation.

"Villagers came out in large numbers and alleged that they were in an illicit relationship. The man tried to flee but was caught by the villagers. Then both of them were thrashed by the villagers," the police officer said.

"The woman's head was shaved by other women of the village. Their clothes were torn and they were tortured through the night. The villagers informed the police only during early hours in the morning," he added.

The villagers alleged that both were married persons and they were cheating on their spouses, the police officer said.

It is a third major incident in Assam this month, where locals took law into their hands and thrashed people. In the first incident a Garo tribal woman was "taught a lesson" for riding pillion on a Muslim man's motorcycle at Paikan in western Assam's Goalpara district bordering Meghalaya. The police then arrested 12 tribal men for kicking and punching the duo.

On June 18, a mob had attacked a couple while they were going on a bike in Pukhurpur village of Rongjuli area in Goalpara district, claiming they were unmarried and it was "improper" of them to move around together. It involved a Married Muslim man and a Muslim woman who was a divorcee. Polcie arrested six people for trying them at a kangaroo court, thrashing them in public and forcing them to get married two days later.

(With input from PTI)