Khammam: ‘Caste elder’ holds panchayat, harasses village women

Khammam: The women of Gandhasiri, a tiny village in Mudigonda mandal, are being victimised by a person who claims to be a kula pedda (caste elder) and issues diktats against women that humiliate them and keep them away from their families.

Some of the women are now seeking police help and protection from K. Babu aka Sahadeva Raju, who claims to be a face-reader. One of his victims is his own daughter-in-law P. Mavulamma. She said her three children are being kept away from her and she was thrown out of her house.

“They are not handing over my children. Further, my father-in-law is giving a bad picture to my husband and children by assassinating my character,” she said.

She said that she had lodged a complaint against Babu with the police but no action was taken. “The followers of Babu attacked my brothers and threatened to eliminate them,” she said.

The victims say that Babu started these peddarayudu (elder leader) judgments under the guise of conducting kula (caste) panchayats.

The punishments he pronounces for victims included tonsuring the victim, forcing the women to consume their own faeces and eat bran, and making them stay in a cattle shed.

The locals said that the panchayat is confined to the Budaga Jangalu caste and does not apply to the entire village.

Ms P. Vajamma, another victim, said, “I was forced to eat bran as part of his private judgment. I bear his atrocities keeping my children’s safety in view. I was thrown out of the house by my husband who followed his diktat.” She said that she lived under a tree for fifteen days and the locals were forced not to help her.

The Budaga Jangalu is a Scheduled Tribe living in Gandhasiri. Their profession is rummaging and face-reading. Many of them have gone abroad where some of them earned lakhs of rupees by claiming to be able to read people’s faces.

Babu came to the village three decades ago after visiting several countries and bought 130 acres of land in Mudigonda mandal.

Hussain, a relative by marriage, is also one of Babu’s victims. “Babu settled down well with his professional talents. We felt happy and my daughter got married to his son. (But later) I was also threatened several times and I appealed to the government to do justice to my family,” Hussain said.  The victims have now approached additional commissioner I. Puja and lodged a complaint.