Woman sexually assaulted by 13 village court ‘judges’ as punishment for relationship with man from another town

The horrific punishment was carried out by ten judges and three of their accomplices, including the village headman, in an Indian village near Suri in the west Bengal state.

According to reports, the woman and her boyfriend were dragged to a makeshift court, where the man was told pay a fine of £245 and warned that if he did not pay, men from the village would 'have fun with the girl.'

As he could not pay the fine, the woman was allegedly tied to a tree before she was forced into a shed and raped continuously until the next morning.

In spite of the woman bleeding heavily, her family were forced to stay indoors with her, and only managed to escape to hospital a day later.

Despite being in critical condition, the woman has told her story to the Times of India to raise awareness.

'I had an affair with a man,' she told the paper.

'We were dragged to a gathering where our community headman was present. They told me to pay 50,000 rupees (£490). When I said I couldn't, they brutalised me.'

A doctor told the paper that the young woman was alive 'only because she is a tough tribal girl.'

Speaking about the shocking incident, the woman's mother described the crime as being committed ‘by our own people.'

She added: 'They tortured my daughter and dumped her home late at night. We were threatened not to go to police.

'We tried to go to Bolpur hospital, but they stopped us.'

Police say that all of the men have since been arrested in connection with the rape, adding that ‘the details are yet to be investigated'.

The story has sent shockwaves around India, sparking anti-violence protests across the country (pictures above show past protests).