Sanjay Vyas, Harsha Kumari Singh
Watch story
Friday, September 22, 2006 (Chittorgarh):
ndtv
http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?category=National&slug=Rajasthan%3A+Tribals+undergo+%27test+by+fire%27&id=93592
A medieval test by fire has left nearly 100 people with burnt fingers in Ranpur village in Rajasthan's Chittorgarh district.
The village panchayat ordered the tribals to dip their hands in boiling oil to prove that they had not stolen food grains meant for the mid day meal.
When the NDTV team visited the spot, the tribals were too traumatised to speak. Scared of being ostracized, the victims did not even lodge a police complaint.
It was only when the matter came to light that the police arrested the culprits of the kangaroo court and local government officials who did not report the matter have now been suspended.
The caste panchayat in Ranpur decided that the best way to identify the thief would be to get everyone in the village to pick out a ring from a cauldron of boiling oil .
Scary custom
According to the custom, the thief will have his entire arm burnt while those who are innocent will just get away with singed fingers.
"After the theft incident in the school, the school teachers asked everyone to take out the ring from boiling oil. They said it is a village custom. Around 50 people got burnt," said Mangilal, a victim.
"We all had a bath and turn by turn put our fingers into hot oil and took out the ring. That time it did not hurt very much but now we have severe burns," added Jagdish, another victim.
The horrific custom has left almost the entire village with severe burn injuries.
While the incident took place on the September 10, the matter came to the notice of senior police officials almost a week later following reports in the local newspapers.
The administration has now suspended local officials who did not report the matter and has arrested the five panches who gave instructions for the test.
"Why was the incident not reported to the police and if the police knew, why did they not take action? We have suspended the local SHO. Since the district administration also came to know about the matter almost 13 days later, the local revenue officials have also been suspended," said Rajiv Dasoth, IG Udaipur range.
While the police may have now taken action, villagers are still fearful and many have refused to testify against the members of the caste panchayat, fearing they may be asked to undergo more such medieval tests at a later date.
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"Ours is a battle not for wealth or for power.
It is a battle for freedom. It is a battle for the reclamation of human personality."
- Dr BR Ambedkar
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