Jhajjar (Haryana), July 19 (Inditop.com) Residents of a Haryana village clashed with police Sunday as they tried to forcefully evict a man and his family for marrying a girl from the same ‘gothra’ (clan). The man Friday had attempted suicide following harassment from the village ‘panchayat’ (council).
The panchayat Friday had ordered Ravinder Singh, 24, to annul his marriage or leave the village by Sunday.
Senior Superintendent of Police Saurabh Singh said: “The members of the panchayat and some others had a meeting in another village in the morning and were marching towards the house of Ravinder.
“We tried to stop them at the border of Dharana village but they suddenly attacked the police. We had to use force to control the agitating mob. So far, we have not arrested anybody but in the process some of our policemen sustained serious injuries,” Singh told IANS.
The villagers pelted police with stones and bricks. The police fired tear-gas shells to disperse the crowd.
“We are still in the village and are trying to resolve this issue. Nobody is above law and we would not allow them to take law into their own hands,” said Singh.
The villagers are bitterly against the marriage of Ravinder and want him to take a divorce.
The panchayat has boycotted the family and has threatened hefty fine on any one trying to have contacts with the family.
Following the panchayat’s harassment, Ravinder tried to commit suicide by consuming poison.
Representatives from Ravinder’s village even went to the bride’s village Siwah near Panipat town Thursday to persuade her family for a mutual divorce.
However, the girl’s family declined.
Lalchand, grandfather of the bride, said: “We are totally against this divorce as it would destroy our daughter’s life. The groom’s family was well aware about our gotra before the marriage and we had not kept anybody in the dark (about it). Rather they should try and convince their panchayat.”
A relative of Ravinder said: “Police should immediately arrest the culprits. Everyone knows their identity but they are moving about freely in the village. Police is working under political pressure and it seems that they themselves are afraid of the panchayat.”
Village councils in Haryana, particularly the ‘khap’ (caste) councils, are notorious for their vicious campaign against couple getting married within the same clan. In recent years, such couples have been hounded out of villages, attacked and in some cases even killed, at the behest of these councils.
