Tripura: 80-yr-old man garlanded with shoes, paraded, tied to pole for raping daughter-in-law

An 80-year-old man was allegedly thrashed, garlanded with shoes, paraded through a village and tied to a pole by an angry mob in Tripura's Gomati district on July 17 after being accused of repeatedly raping his daughter-in-law, police said.

The incident unfolded hours after the accused's son was found hanging from the ceiling of their house.

According to Nutanbazar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Bikram Debbarma, police received a memorandum signed by villagers alleging that the octogenarian had been sexually assaulting his daughter-in-law for several months and that the abuse had driven his son to die by suicide.

"We received a memorandum signed by the villagers alleging that the octogenarian repeatedly raped his daughter-in-law for the last few months, as a result of which his son died by suicide," Debbarma told PTI.

Enraged villagers allegedly held the elderly man responsible for the death and subjected him to public humiliation. A video of the incident, which has gone viral on social media, shows the accused being beaten, paraded after being garlanded with shoes and later tied to a pole.

Police rushed to the village, rescued the man from the mob and shifted him to a nearby hospital, where he is currently under medical observation.

"A group of villagers sought lawful action against the elderly man, though no official complaint has been received yet," the police officer said.

Police said legal action will be initiated in accordance with the law once a formal complaint is lodged. Authorities are also looking into the circumstances surrounding the alleged sexual assault and the death of the accused's son.