Ban on entry of widow: Haryana women commission asks DC to suspend Fatehabad village sarpanch

As per sources, the widow’s father said they had submitted a copy of the panchayat’s decision to the police but no action was taken against the culprits.

A day after the panchayat of Fatehabad’s Dhani Bhojraj issued a diktat banning the entry of a widow to her in-laws village for the next 15 years, the Haryana State Commission For Women chairperson Pratibha Suman on Saturday met the woman, Bala Devi, at her parental home and later visited her in-laws village.

HT Image

Suman said, “We met the widow at her parental home where she narrated the entire incident. Afterwards, we accompanied her to the in-laws village. We had issued a summon to the panchayat to clarify their stand on the incident and ordered police to register a First Information report (FIR) against them.”

“The women commission has asked Fatehabad deputy commissioner to suspend sarpanch Sadu Ram, who had passed the diktat. We will ensure that the woman gets her rights,” she added.

As per sources, the widow’s father said they had submitted a copy of the panchayat’s decision to the police but no action was taken against the culprits.

Suman said she will initiate a strong action if any police official is found involved in the entire case. “We are investigating whether the woman’s father had filed any complaint with the police or not,” she added.