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Runaway couple facing death threat take refuge at govt safe home in Narnaul
The man and the woman, who are in their 20s, are from neighbouring villages-- Bigopur and Dholera--respectively
Panchayats of two villages dominated by Yadavs in Mahendergarh district are mounting pressure on a newly wed couple to end their marriage as they belong to neighbouring villages, forcing them to take refuge in a government run safe home in Narnaul.
The man and the woman, who are in their 20s, are from neighbouring villages-- Bigopur and Dholera--respectively. They fled from their homes and got married in a temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad on June 9. The proximity of their villages went against the old customs, which disallow marriages between people of neighbouring villages. They were asked to end their marriage but they denied. Four days after their marriage, alleging life threat from their families, they went to Narnaul court to seek protection. The court sent them to a safe house for a week. The duration of the same was extended for 15 days by the court on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, their parents agreed to end the marriage during a panchayat of 31 villages held on Monday.
The woman, a graduate student and the man were preparing for competitive exams and they used to board the same bus from the same stop. Both the villages have a common bus stop and they were friends for the last four years, as per police.
Talking to media at Narnaul court on Wednesday, the couple said that they will not end their marriage, adding that they have been receiving threats from their families and some local representatives.
The Dholera residents are boycotting the people of Bigopur (man’s village), due to which Bigopur residents are facing issues as the facilities like post office, bank are common for both the villages and are in Dholera village.
“The parents of the man and woman had signed an agreement to not file any case and not keep rivalry against each other, if the marriage is ended. We asked their parents to ensure divorce so that such things never happen again. The newly wed man and the woman are not accepting the panchayat’s decision,” Bigopur sarpanch Kanwar Singh said.
This is the third such case in three weeks that came to fore in Haryana.
In the first case, a 27-year-old was allegedly killed by her father and brother on June 3. The family had claimed that the woman died after cot fell on her on June 3. However, after investigation, the police booked her father Deshraj, alias, Jagdish and brother for allegedly suffocating her to death. Sirsa police spokesman Surjeet said that the woman’s father and brother were produced before a local court on Thursday and were sent to judicial custody.
“We have recovered the pillow which was used to suffocate her to death. The woman and her friend were of the same caste and were in touch for the last 5 years. The man’s poor financial situation was the reason behind the woman’s family not accepting the relationship,” he added.
In the second case, a 17-year-old minor had shot dead his sister Komal Rani of Kyorak village and injured her sister-in-law and mother-in-law at their home in Kaithal on Wednesday for solemnising inter-caste marriage.
