A woman, with her head shaved and hands and legs tied, is sitting on a log of wood with her husband hitting her repeatedly on her thighs and back with a wooden stick in front of a small crowd, shows a disturbing video from Uttar Pradesh.
The incident, reportedly five days old but now in wide circulation, is from a village in Kannauj, some 122 km from state capital Lucknow.
Six people have been arrested in the case, said police.
“A video of a woman being beaten is being shared. The man seen beating in the video is the husband of a woman. Six people have been arrested and an inquiry is underway,” said Amit Kumar Anand, Superintendent of Police, Kannauj.
The woman, whose name is being withheld to protect her identity, had complained that her nephew was harassing her.
Hearing the matter, a village panchayat ordered that the woman and nephew’s head be shaved as punishment. The woman’s husband was ordered to beat her publicly.
“Jabardasti kata unhone (They cut my hair forcefully),” said the woman, who covered her head with a dupatta.
A shorn head is heavy with meaning. It is deployed to both dehumanise and punish.
(With inputs from Israil Khan)
