A bizarre case involving a husband, wife, and the wife’s boyfriend has surfaced in Saraikela, Jharkhand. A village panchayat (council) ordered the wife to be sent with her boyfriend in the presence of her husband. The boyfriend was also fined. Surprisingly, the police were not allowed to intervene. The incident took place in Palashdih village, under the RIT police station area.
According to reports, the boyfriend and another man were apprehended by villagers when they went to meet the married woman. A panchayat was convened, and the decision was made to send the woman with her boyfriend in front of her husband. Villagers strongly opposed police intervention.
A young man from Chilgu Panchayat of Chandil and his friend arrived at Palashdih in a car on Monday night to meet the woman. While taking the woman in the car, the villagers surrounded them. The boyfriend and his friend were beaten up after being pulled out of the car. Then, the woman and the two men were held captive.
When the police were informed, SDPO Sameer Kumar Savaiya and RIT police station in-charge Vinay Kumar Singh arrived with a team. They tried to reason with the villagers, but the villagers opposed police intervention, calling it a social matter. The police had to step back due to the opposition, but they remained at the scene to prevent any untoward incident.
The village assembly meeting was held under social traditions, after which all parties left with mutual consent. The panchayats of the woman’s in-laws, her parents, and her boyfriend’s village convened together, effectively three panchayats. In the panchayat that lasted from morning till evening, the husband was shocked by the decision. The woman was sent with her boyfriend, and the boyfriend was fined one lakh rupees. The divorce was finalized then and there, and the woman was sent with her boyfriend. The case is now a topic of discussion everywhere.
