With marriages deemed to be made in heaven only if arranged by parents, quite a few inter-caste couples who eloped to be united take refuge in police stations from those hell bent on separating them. Even the Dharmapuri couple, Ilavarasan (since deceased) and Divya, approached the Salem Deputy Inspector General last year seeking protection from marauding caste Hindus.
This past week, a Muslim youth who married a Hindu girl landed at the office of the Coimbatore Superintendent of Police pleading for intervention after the bride’s parents opposed their matrimonial union.
Police personnel say couples smitten by love are increasingly looking at police stations as a place where their romantic relationship will be blessed.
“The trend of couples seeking refuge in police stations increased in the last decade after a few inspectors started conducting weddings in police stations and this got widely reported in newspapers,” says S Muthiah, a retired head constable.
He recalls that about a decade ago, newly-weds rarely visited police stations. But now, not a single week passes without a young couple seeking protection either in a police station or headquarters like the district police or city police offices.
In most cases, the couples seek refuge in police stations only when there is a threat to their safety from family members. And often, the couples approach police stations outside their native district to escape their relatives.
“My girlfriend’s family is a very influential one in our village and was dead against our marriage due to my poor economic status. They had even arranged henchmen to separate us, forcing us to flee the district,” recalls K Sathish, an IAS aspirant from Krishnagiri who sought protection from the Coimbatore police a few months ago after eloping.
Police officers say when couples approach them, they first examine if they have attained the legal age of majority. “We check whether the boy is above 21 years and the girl is above 18 years. If yes, we summon their families and categorically tell them that they must no longer interfere with the couple’s life,” says a police inspector at an All Women’s Police station in Coimbatore.
In almost every case, parents insist that their children must give up their right to inherit property, if he/she chooses to marry sans family approval. “Even though such mandates have no legal validity, the parents often compel their children to give it in writing that they shall forego a share in ancestral property. The love struck couple often give such an undertaking,” the officer said.