The National Crime Records Bureau¡¯s (NCRB) ¡®Crime In India¡¯ report of 2017, expected to be released by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the coming days will for the for the first time document ¡°crimes committed by Khap panchayats.¡±
This will document all the crimes involving ¡®Khaps¡¯ from across the country.?
BCCL/FILE
Khap panchayats are caste or community groups, mostly in rural areas of states like Haryana, Rajasthan and UP which often acts as a kangaroo court and settle local disputes.?
They have however come under the scanner for pronouncing punishments like fines, flogging.
The Khaps have also been accused of ordering honor killings in cases of intercaste marriages and social boycotts.?
BCCL/FILE
According to reports, there have been as many as 251 honour killings in 2016 against 28 in 2014, the year from which the NCRB started maintaining a record of such incidents.?
The Khaps,?however, said the move was an attempt to paint the Khap?as a group of criminals.?
¡°Khaps have never committed any crime. It is because of Khap panchayats that India¡¯s culture and values are intact in many parts of the country,¡± Sube Singh Samain, a spokesperson of Haryana¡¯s Sarv Khap Jat Panchayat told The New Indian Express.