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Ahmednagar police failed to protect couple, says husband’s brother
Ahmednagar police which have succeeded in detaining the main accused, refute charges
The shocking crime of a father allegedly setting his young daughter and her husband on fire in Ahmednagar district to condemn their inter-caste marriage was marked by a number of developments on Tuesday.
The police succeeded in detaining the woman’s father, Rama Bhartiya from Uttar Pradesh, and bring him to Parner for questioning. On other fronts, the Maharashtra State Commission for Women said it has taken cognisance of the case even as the husband’s brother said in Pune that Ahmednagar police had failed to take preventive action.
On May 1, Mangesh Ransingh (23) and his wife Rukmini (19) were allegedly doused with kerosene and set ablaze by Rukmini’s father and uncles at Nighoj village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar district to condemn their inter-caste marriage.
While Rukmini died of severe burns, Mangesh, who suffered 50% burns was rushed to the Sassoon General Hospital in Pune.
Mangesh, who worked on daily wages, belonged to the Lohar caste and his wife Rukmini, a domestic help, belonged to Pasi caste, assistant police inspector Vijay Kumar Botre, the investigation officer in the case said.
Rukmini named her father and two uncles in her dying declaration.
Mahesh, who is the eldest of four brothers and a sister, was with his brother at the Sassoon General Hospital where he is recuperating in the burns ward of the hospital.
“My brother had informed the Parner police in February that he was being harassed and tortured by his in-laws. He had even informed the police on the morning of the incident which took place at 8pm. The police dismissed the verbal complaint saying that since it was a family matter it better be resolved within the family,” Mahesh, who is a construction contractor, said.
“Had the Ahmednagar police visited the place, the life of my sister-in-law would have been saved and my brother would not have been attacked,” Mahesh said.
Mahesh said that Rukmini’s family was not happy with the marriage and had been harassing his brother for the past six months. “They used to accost him at secluded places and had threatened to kill him. He had informed the Parner police about this, but the matter was never taken up,” he alleged.
Assistant police inspector Vijay Kumar Botre denied the allegations levelled against the police.
“There is no meaning in the accusations against the police as they don’t have any evidence to show that they had contacted the police. We have detained the father in connection with the incident from Kausambi, his native place in Uttar Pradesh and he will be arrested soon,” he said.
Mahesh said the story that Rukmini had returned home to her village because she had a tiff with her husband was false. “Actually, it was her mother who had called her on the cell phone and asked her to come home. On going there, she was beaten up and kept locked in a room without food since April 30. My brother and I went to the house on May 1 to convince the parents to send her home,” said Mahesh.
He said that while he left early in the morning, his brother went back to the house to fetch her. However, he was dragged into the house and set on fire, he alleged.
Mahesh and his family members have demanded capital punishment for the assailants.
Previously, the police had arrested Rukmini’s paternal uncle Surendra Bhartiya and maternal uncle Ghanshyam Saroj in connection with the case under the Indian Penal Code Sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempted murder) at Parner police station in the district.