A panchayat in Rajasthan ordered all men in the village to strip before it on Monday following a rape and murder in the village. Over 1,000 men had to take their clothes off at Boraj village in Ajmer to “prove” that they were not involved in the killing of 35-year-old Geeta Rawat as panchayat members checked them for injuries. The police stood by watching.

Geeta’s body was found on the outskirts of the village on Saturday evening, and preliminary investigations and a post-mortem report indicated she might have been raped before she was killed. However, except for her face, which bore stab injuries, her body did not have any marks of struggle, leading the police to believe that she knew her attackers.

The panchayat’s conclusion was that if Geeta was raped, she must have struggled and left some marks on her assaulters. Once the police told them that they suspected a local, the panchayat decided to take matters in its own hands. To be fair, the physical “check” included members of the panchayat as well. Panchayat head Tara Rawat said their “investigation” indicated that the culprit may not be anyone from the village. “Nobody present there had any injury marks that seemed suspicious,” he stated.

Early on Monday morning, all men of the village were told to gather at Hatai Chok where the panchayat had organised a meeting. They were asked to strip to bare minimum and examined for “injuries” and “nail scratches” by the panchayat members in the presence of police.

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