A man was allowed by a village panchayat to take away the woman he loved by giving her husband 71 sheep, in Gorakhpur district on Friday, police said.
The shocking incident took place in a village falling under Pipraich police station.
The ‘illegal’ panchayat diktat drew sharp criticism from locals, the police added.
Police said the panchayat was called to settle a dispute dating back to July 22, when the woman Seema, 32, wife of Ramesh Pal, 35, had eloped with her lover Umesh Pal, 33, and had started living with him. Both Ramesh and Umesh are shepherds.
On Friday, Seema told the panchayat that she didn’t want to live with her husband Ramesh Pal, who she alleged could not give her a child despite five years of marriage, and that now she was pregnant through her lover Umesh.
After hearing both the sides, the panchayat asked Umesh to give 71 sheep to Seema’s husband as compensation.
Police said both sides agreed to the diktat and Umesh took Seema with him after giving 71 sheep to her husband.
However, the matter took a fresh turn on Saturday when Umesh’s father Ram Naresh Pal refused to accept the panchayat’s decision and complained to senior superintendent of police (SSP) Dr Sunil Gupta that his son had stolen his sheep for complying with the panchayat’s order. He demanded his sheep back. “My son stole the sheep for keeping the woman. I want them back” he said.
{{/usCountry}}However, the matter took a fresh turn on Saturday when Umesh’s father Ram Naresh Pal refused to accept the panchayat’s decision and complained to senior superintendent of police (SSP) Dr Sunil Gupta that his son had stolen his sheep for complying with the panchayat’s order. He demanded his sheep back. “My son stole the sheep for keeping the woman. I want them back” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Acting on Ram Naresh’s complaint, the sheep were retrieved and returned to him. A theft case was registered against Umeshfor stealing the sheep of his father.
The SSP said that “based on the complaint of Ram Naresh, a case of theft has been registered against his son. As far as adultery is concerned, action can be taken only when either the wife or husband makes complaint.”