Timeline, from June Assault to July Viral Video to FIR

When you think the concept of justice cannot get any funnier when it comes to women, we have yet another ridiculousness staging itself. Recently, an FIR was filed against the villagers of Begusarai, Bihar, India, for forcefully subjugating a rape victim to lick the spit of the ground as a punishment. The incident was brought to light by a viral video that circulated on social media weeks ago, drawing heavy criticism from viewers.

The rape crime is reported to have occurred on two different occasions between June 2nd and 4th, 2026. The victim, a 30-year-old woman, mother of three, was left all alone in the house after her husband, who is a common wage labourer, left for work. She claimed that the abuser, a local neighbour, forcibly entered her home and threatened to silence her before raping her. The man used the windows to flee after committing the crime, and it was during one such attempt that he was caught by the villagers. The eyewitnesses commenced an informal village panchayat to deliver justice rather than informing the higher authorities. The supposed self-appointed court deemed both the man and the woman equally responsible for the crime, sentencing them to communal punishment by making them hold their ears and do sit-ups, and to lick the spit of the commenters off the ground.

Due to the absence of her husband, the woman couldn’t approach the police and take any legal action, choosing to endure the humiliation in silence. But things became a lot wilder when the skin-scrapping incident was posted anonymously on the social media platform by an unidentified user on July 31st, garnering the immediate attention of the public and police. The video circulated all over social media, showcasing the horrifying incident, where the concealed rape victim was surrounded by thousands of villagers, mocking, throwing profanities, and forcing her to do the same penalty as the guilty.

On 1st August, a formal complaint was filed by the unnamed woman, commencing an official investigation into the case. The inquiry led by the district DSP, Nikhil Kumar, began by digging into the original framework of the video. While interrogating the panchayat, the villagers asserted their punishment was for a just cause, as both people were involved in an extramarital affair, dismissing the victim’s plea as a lie. The assertion is, however, not backed by any proper evidence or by the police. The perpetrator is still under hiding, and limited sources claim the arrest of an unidentified person involved in the scandal. The investigation is still in process, and no further revelations have been made yet.

The idea of a panchayat taking justice into their hands is never an isolated pattern. Back in 2018, a woman was locked up and forced to lick the spit of the ground and drink urine by the father of her rapist after she approached him to complain. Similarly, in Muzaffarpur, the family of a rape victim hid her pregnancy for months in fear of the panchayat. And later, when found out, it was declared an inhumane directive to sell the child off as compensation for the supposed crime. These harsh resolutions taken by the panchayat pose a much more criminal act than the crime itself.

The light of these incidents brings in an important question on the legitimacy of the ‘panchayats’ holding informal courts and delivering justice over acclaimed law enforcers. Forbidden to carry such authority, people still tend to rely on village leaders to deliver solutions to their problems that require legal help. Multiple reasons have been attributed to this mentality. But one of the primary reason in the continued cultural inertia of the legitimate power held by the panchayat. The very perception of ‘this is how it works’ or ‘the elderly know best’ fuels this legitimacy, proving them to be the ultimate problem-solvers, even for bigger crimes.

The existence of such terrifying norms, rooted in outdated traditional concepts and stereotypical perceptions, puts women into much deeper ambush. The prevalence of sealed judgment, victimisation of women instead of the culprit, public humiliation over community support, and evasion of practical, logical measures eventually limits a woman’s courage to approach authority in itself. There is a need for a strict imposition of restrictions on the assumed authority held by village heads acting as jurists on critical incidents. A joint coordination between the police officers and local villages is deemed necessary to inspect the well-being and existing conditions of a village on a frequent basis. Otherwise, such grave crimes will remain hidden well behind the closed borders, unaware and unattended.

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