Couple thrashed for intercaste marriage in MP, 10 family members arrested: Police

Madhya Pradesh police arrested 10 family members for abducting and thrashing a couple over intercaste marriage in Betul. Couple rescued and stable in hospital.

Updated on: Mar 13, 2024, 20:36:28 IST

By Shruti Tomar

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Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh police said on Wednesday that they arrested 10 members of a family for allegedly abducting and thrashing a couple over an intercaste marriage in Betul.

Police said that the family members of the woman abducted her and her husband and brutally thrashed them. The incident took place on Tuesday night.

The woman identified as Ashika Pawar belongs to the Other Backward Class community, while her husband Shivam Barde from the Scheduled Caste community, said police.

Kotwali town inspector Devkaran Dehariya said that their neighbour Sandeep Barde saw them at the time of the incident and tried to save them, however, he too was thrashed, following which he reached Kotwali police to register a complaint.

Based on the complaint, police swung into action and began searching for the couple and arrested two persons initially.

The duo were rescued from a farm and were taken to a hospital for treatment, where their condition is stated to be stable, said police.

Sheshrao Pawar – the father and the main accused, maternal uncle Akhilesh Pawar and eight others were arrested for abduction, voluntarily causing hurt and trespassing, said Kotwali town inspector Devkaran Dehariya.

Sharing the ordeal, Barde said that they wanted to set them on fire and were planning to hang them. “We got married on February 8 in an Arya Samaj temple. On Tuesday night, my wife’s father Sheshrao Pawar, along with others, abducted us from our house. They took us to a farm and thrashed us,” Barde said.

He claimed that the woman’s father spared their lives after she would register a kidnapping and false rape case against him.

After a complaint was registered by the couple, 10 people were arrested. The accused have been booked under section 365 (abduction), 294 (use obscene language), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 452 (trespassing) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC and under the relevant section of SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) Act, police said.

(with inputs from Mayank Bhargava from Betul)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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