MITHILESH YADAV SIRAHA, Oct 7: A married woman and a man have been banished from a village in Siraha district for allegedly having illicit relations. A panchayat (meeting) of local people decided to banish a 28-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man, both belonging to the Yadav caste, from Ayodhyapur (Nepal Monitor edit: "Ayodhyanagar" is in Siraha) VDC of Siraha district two days ago. The matter was brought to light at a press conference on Saturday by a local network of human rights organizations. According to Dev Kumari Mahara, a Siraha-based human rights activist, the villagers had shorn off their hair, smeared soot on their faces and garlanded them with shoes and sandals before hounding them out of the village. “What is even more shocking is the police were present when the villagers committed such a horrible deed,” said Sunil Kumar Sah, another human rights activist in Siraha. “By not doing anything, the police lent moral support to this barbaric act.” A police team led by an assistant sub-inspector from Gol-bazaar of Siraha was present at the panchayat. When the panchayat decided to banish the two from the village, the police simply walked away, reads a joint statement released by various Siraha-based human rights organizations. According to Mahara, when the victimized woman sought help from the police, she was advised to go elsewhere and start a new life as no one could go against the panchayat´s decision. The panchayat, a traditional assembly of ´gentlemen´ and elders for addressing local issues, still functions in most villages in the Tarai, although they have no legal status. DSP Krishna Hari Sharma admitted to having prior information about the issue but said he did not anticipate that the panchayat would go to that extent. According to him, Rajendra Yadav, one of the villagers directly involved in the incident, has been arrested while others have fled the village. The victimized woman has refuted villagers´ allegation that she was having an extra-marital affair with the man who happens to be her brother-in-law. Her husband is not ready to believe that she cheated on him. “I don´t doubt my wife´s character. I am still ready to accept her,” he said. “But, I can´t go against the villagers´ decision either.” The expelled woman and man are now sheltering in Bishnupurkatti VDC. “My name has been tarnished; and now I find it difficult to live on,” said the woman. “The villagers punished me without any evidence.”