Twelve booked for ordering social boycott of family over marriage
Police registered an offense against at least 12 persons for allegedly ordering social boycott of a 23-year-old man and his family in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra after he married a woman belonging to his caste. The man recently lodged a complaint at Devrukh Police station in Ratnagiri's Sangmeshwar tehsil, alleging humiliation by the group of villagers, who opposed his marriage within the local fraternity.
The groom is well settled: Police official
"The complainant and the accused belong to the same caste (Scheduled Caste). He hails from Patgaon Bouddhawadi at Devrukh and currently works with a leading private broadcast satellite service provider as an engineer. He is currently based in Vasai, Palghar district," a police official said.
Community members says marriage within same hamlet is not permitted
Complainant married a 20-year-old woman he was in love with at Khar, Mumbai last year. The woman belongs to the same hamlet. After the marriage, the members of their community from the hamlet boycotted the complainant's family as he married a woman who belonged to the same place. According to them, such marriages are not permitted as they consider the hamlet as one fraternity.
Decision to boycott the family was taken in a meeting
"The community members said that the marriage is unacceptable. The decision to boycott the complainant and his family was taken in a meeting held on March 15 last year in Patgaon and it mentioned the same in the meeting book," the police official said.
Multiple restrictions were placed on the complainant's family
After the meeting, the complainant's family was not allowed to speak to any person belonging to their community or attend any functions in the hamlet. Besides, the family was also not allowed to enter the village. The complainant's family was also not allowed to inform about the death of the complainant's grandmother and his uncle was not given permission to attend the death rituals.
A complaint has been registered and an investigation is underway
Based on the man's complaint, an offense was registered against the accused under sections of the Maharashtra Prohibition of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2016, and under various IPC sections including 120B, 143, and 153. "Notices have been issued to all the accused including father of the complainant's wife. An investigation into the case is on," the police official said.
