Patna: A man in Bihar committed suicide on Thursday night after being forced to lick his own spit as a punishment by local villagers.

The victim’s crime was that he had assaulted a local priest after seeing him in compromising position with his adult daughter.

As per the report, the villagers from Kalyanpur in Samastipur district had hired a local priest for offering worship to deity Durga during Navratra (a festival dedicated to the worship of Hindu deity Durga) during which he developed intimacy with a college girl student.

The girl’s father allegedly caught the priest in an objectionable position and assaulted him. However, the co-villagers strongly objected to the beating of the priest and hurriedly convened a meeting of local village council to decide over the issue.

After debating the matter, the council asked the girl’s father to lick his spit on the spot as a punishment for assaulting the priest, while also slapping on him a fine of Rs21,000 (Dh1,260). The man had no option but to follow the diktat of the village council under pressures from the co-villagers, it is said.

Soon after, the offended man reached a local shop where he bought Sulpha tablets — a highly toxic insecticide — and swallowed them. Subsequently, his condition started deteriorating and he died later that day. The police are investigating the case as the accused council members are reported absconding.