KEONJHAR: A tribal youth of Keonjhar was imposed a hefty Rs 25 lakh penalty by a kangaroo court of his village after he married a girl from another tribe and brought her home.However, unable to pay up, the couple left the village and is now living with their uncle in another place. The incident was reported from Nialijharan village of Khaliamenta panchayat under Ghasipura Police station.
Sources said, 27-year-old Maheswar Baske, a youth from Santhal tribe, married a girl of Nagadihi. His bride was apparently from another tribe or a sub-caste. After their marriage, the couple spent some days outside but returned to Maheswar’s ancestral village on July 27.However, villagers of Nialijharan objected to the fact that Maheswar, a daily wage earner, married outside of his tribe and hence cannot reside in the village. Though he clarified that his wife also is tribal and they married with mutual consent, the villagers were in no mood to accept the newly-wed.
A kangaroo court of the village met and served a penalty of Rs 25.6 lakh on Maheswar. The fine amount was calculated on various heads. If the couple did not pay up, the village heads allegedly commanded that they would not be allowed to attend any social, religious or other functions of the village. Maheswar who did not have the resources expressed his inability to pay the penalty and took shelter in his uncle’s house in another village.
Though the matter was not reported to local police, it has started an enquiry. Inspector in charge of Ghasipura Manoranjan Bisi said, “We received no formal complaint in this regard but we investigated the matter and a team reached the tribal-dominated Nialijharan village to look into the case.”
Odisha government has a scheme titled Sumangal under which inter-caste marriage is incentivised so that caste prejudice and stigmatization is eliminated while encouraging social integration. However, it covers marriages between caste Hindus and the scheduled caste. Besides cash, financial support to start business is also provided under the scheme to the beneficiaries.