KOPPAL: In a shocking incident that came to light in the Koppal district, a couple pushed their 22-year-old daughter into the Devadasi system as they were unable to meet her medical expenses. Police have arrested the parents and two others.
The incident took place at Chilavadagi village in Koppal district in May this year and it came to light when a team headed by Poornima Yolbhavi, district project officer of Devadasi Rehabilitation Programme in Koppal, got a hint about it from the villagers. A complaint was lodged on December 26 in this regard.
The parents had taken their daughter to the Huligemma temple in the Hulagi village of Koppal for rituals. The temple is infamous as many families which push their young daughters into the Devadasi system visit here for rituals.
Upon investigation, it was found that the parents were behind the act and nobody forced them. The matter was brought to the notice of the local police who arrested the four accused -- Yamanurappa Mundalmani, Huligevva Mundalmani, Mookavva and Hanumappa Harijan. They have been remanded in judicial custody.
“The family was unable to meet the medical expenses of their daughter who has been ailing for a long. Believing a few villagers, the family performed rituals at the temple and made their daughter a Devadasi,” said an official from the Devadasi Rehabilitation Programme.
“The rituals of making a Devadasi includes giving her what is known as a holy bath and dressing her up like a Goddess. In the Devadasi system, the girl are married to a deity and she acts as a caretaker to the temple,” the official added.