A second Bihar case reveals this isn't an isolated incident

“A woman who reports rape does not need a village court to decide her fate. She needs a justice system that believes her enough to investigate, protects her enough to let her speak, and is strong enough to punish whoever is guilty.”

There is something deeply disturbing about a woman going to her community after suffering sexual violence and finding that the people around her are more interested in judging her than helping her. The recent incident reported from Begusarai, Bihar, is not merely a story about one village or one panchayat. It raises a much bigger question: what happens when people who have no legal authority decide to become judges, police officers and executioners all at once?

In Begusarai, a woman who alleged that a neighbour had raped her was reportedly subjected to an unimaginable form of humiliation. Instead of immediately approaching the police, villagers reportedly convened an informal panchayat. The woman was allegedly forced to lick spit from the ground as a form of punishment. The incident had taken place in June but came to wider public attention after a video surfaced and circulated on social media in late July. An FIR was subsequently registered on August 1, and police began investigating both the sexual-assault allegation and the alleged humiliation by the village gathering.

There is an important point that should not be ignored. Reports also say that some villagers disputed the woman’s allegation and claimed that the relationship was consensual and that the incident was discovered by the community. At this stage, that part of the matter is for the police investigation and, ultimately, the courts to establish. An allegation is not a conviction. But the uncertainty surrounding the original allegation does not make the panchayat’s alleged punishment acceptable. Whether the allegation is eventually proved or disproved, a woman cannot be publicly degraded as a substitute for a lawful investigation.

This is where the real problem begins. In many villages, the panchayat remains an influential institution. It can help resolve local disputes, settle social disagreements and bring people together. But a serious criminal allegation is different. Rape is not simply a family disagreement, a relationship dispute or a matter of village reputation. It is a criminal offence that must be investigated through the legal system. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, rape is defined under Section 63 and punishment is provided under Section 64.

The law also recognises that consent has to be voluntary. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita specifically explains that a woman not physically resisting cannot, merely for that reason, be treated as having consented. That distinction matters because village-level discussions can easily turn into questions such as why she was there, why she went inside a house, why she did not shout, why she knew the accused or why she did not immediately tell someone. None of these questions should become a substitute for a proper investigation into whether consent existed.

The solution, therefore, is not to abolish community involvement altogether. The solution is to understand where community responsibility ends, and the law begins.

The first step after an allegation of rape should be safety. The survivor should be taken away from the accused and from anyone threatening or intimidating her. The family and villagers should ensure that she receives medical attention and emotional support. The next step should be contacting the police and ensuring that the complaint is properly recorded. The current criminal procedure framework specifically contains provisions dealing with investigation and the medical examination of a rape victim, including Section 184 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

The second step is evidence. This is one of the biggest reasons why informal village trials can damage justice. By the time a panchayat has spent hours questioning people, arguing over the woman’s character and deciding punishments, valuable evidence can be lost. Witnesses may be influenced. Messages may be deleted. Clothes or other physical evidence may disappear. Most importantly, the survivor may become frightened into changing or withdrawing her account.

A village should not be trying to discover guilt through gossip. It should be preserving information and allowing investigators to do their work.

The third step is protection from social punishment. A rape survivor should never become the accused simply because she spoke about what happened. Public humiliation can be another form of violence. Making someone kneel, slap themselves, hold their ears, lick spit or perform any other degrading act does not establish the truth. It only establishes that a group of people has decided to punish a person without a trial.

And this is not the first time questions have been raised about village-level suppression of sexual-assault complaints in Bihar. In a previous Begusarai case involving a minor girl, reports said a local panchayat initially tried to suppress the matter before the girl’s family approached police and an FIR was registered. Such incidents show why the idea that “the village will settle it” can become dangerous when the allegation involves sexual violence.

There is also another side to this problem: police accountability. Even the best law is meaningless if the first person who hears a survivor’s complaint refuses to take it seriously. A recent and separate Begusarai gang-rape case in June 2026 led to the suspension of a station house officer after allegations of negligence and delayed action. Senior police officials ordered a special investigation and said that negligence in serious offences would not be tolerated.

This tells us something important. The answer cannot simply be “go to the police” and end there. The police must also respond properly. Complaints must be recorded, survivors must be treated with dignity, medical procedures must be carried out appropriately, evidence must be preserved,d and investigations must be monitored. If an officer fails to act, there must be consequences.

Legal assistance also needs to reach villages. Many women may not know where to go, what their rights are or how to proceed when their own families or communities are pressuring them to remain silent. The National Legal Services Authority says women are entitled to free legal aid regardless of their income or financial status, and that legal-services institutions can assist victims of sexual assault. It also provides a toll-free legal-aid helpline at 15100.

But laws and helplines alone cannot change the mindset of a village. Education has to change too.
We need to teach young people that rape is never a matter of family honour. We need to teach communities that the character of a survivor is not evidence against her. We need to teach village leaders that their responsibility is to help a person reach justice, not to manufacture their own version of it. Panchayat members can help ensure safety, accompany a survivor to authorities and prevent intimidation. What they cannot do is conduct their own criminal trial and announce punishments.

The most important change, however, must happen inside our thinking.
When a woman says she has been raped, the first question should not be, “What will people say?” It should be, “Is she safe?”
It should not be, “What was her relationship with that man?” It should be, “What happened, and how can it be investigated fairly?”

And it should never be, “What punishment should the village give her?”
The answer to rape cannot be another act of humiliation. The answer is investigation, evidence, protection, legal representation and a fair trial. If the allegation is false, the legal system can establish that too. If the allegation is true, the offender must face the consequencesunder thee law.

A village does not become stronger by silencing a woman. It becomes stronger when the weakest person in the community knows that speaking the truth will not make her the next victim.

The Begusarai case should therefore not end with outrage over a viral video. The real question is what happens after the cameras disappear. Will the survivor receive justice? Will those who allegedly humiliated her be held accountable? Will villagers learn that a panchayat cannot replace a criminal court? And will police officers understand that delaying action in such cases can deepen the damage?

A society should be judged not by how loudly it talks about protecting women, but by what it does when a woman actually asks for protection.

And perhaps the simplest solution to rape cases in villages is also the most important one: do not create another court in the village. Make the existing justice system reach the village.

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