September 10, 2003	Wednesday	Rajab 12, 1424

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SHEIKHUPURA, Sept 9: A strange tribal tradition was recently enacted in the presence of hundreds of people in Basti Vendran, near Narang Mandi.

To determine the commission of rape in a case, a man and a woman were made to take seven steps with a hot iron rod in hand on the orders of the Sardar of Basti Nazir Ahmed. The woman was able to do so without feeling pain or sustaining injuries. However, the man started crying in pain as his hands got burnt.

A hole was dug and half of the man’s body buried in it. He was beaten up with a shoe and fined Rs1,000. However, he was later on pardoned by the Sardar and released when he apologized.

Villagers told this reporter that the system had been in vogue for several hundred years. In case of a dispute between two persons, the one sustaining burn injuries was declared the offender and that remaining unhurt considered innocent.

Due to this, the crime rate in the area was nominal, claimed the residents of Basti Vendran. They said that anybody who wished to file a case with Sardar had to pay a fee for the purpose.