Palma village in Jharkhand’s Gumla district, a village panchayat, is under police scrutiny after reportedly “settling” a rape case by ordering the 18-year-old accused, Sunil Loharato, to pay a Rs 1 lakh fine as punishment.

According to a report, the accused paid 20,000 on the spot, which was used for a meat-liquor party and was asked to pay the remaining 80,000 rupees within the week, according to reports.

When asked, police said the incident took place at around 4 pm on Saturday ( July 11 )after the accused, 18-year-old Sunil Lohara, went to the victim's home and allegedly told her mother to continue with her work, saying he would look after the child.

After reportedly gaining the girl's trust, he took her to his room. A short while later, the mother heard the child crying and found her seriously injured and covered in blood.

According to police, the village council convened a panchayat on Sunday.

Some members of the panchayat settled the matter within the village and prevented it from being reported to the police.

Acting on a tip-off from an influential person, Ghagra police reached the village on Sunday and registered an FIR based on the victim's mother's statement.

The accused was arrested while he was celebrating the settlement, which police said was organised using the money he had paid.

Panchayat head Lodo Ekka said he was unaware that a meeting had taken place and came to know about the matter only after the police arrived and arrested the accused.

Officer Kumar said no complaint had been received against the panchayat members so far, adding that action would be taken against them if a complaint was filed.