New Delhi:
A Delhi-based powerlifter was allegedly beaten up and shot at by his wife’s brothers in Nawada. His fault? He had married the girl from same ‘gotra’ despite stiff opposition by the family. According to an HT report, the victim has been identified as one Bobby Singh, who claims that he has represented India in the sport. Anto Alphonse, deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka), said the attackers have been identified as are Singh’s brothers-in-law — Neeraj, a bank employee, and PhD student Nitin. “Both are on the run,” the DCP was quoted as saying by the HT.
According to the report, the 25-year-old met the girl in Uttam Nagar’s Hastsal village. Soon, both Delhi University students fell in love. But since they were from the same ‘gotra’, the girl’s family opposed their relationship. After failing to convince their families, the couple decided to elope and get married. At that time, the girl’s family decided to lodge a kidnapping case against Singh.
The couple started living in an undisclosed location after the man’s family accepted their marriage. However, Singh and his wife’s brothers had some common friends, who disclosed the location of the couple. On Tuesday, Singh was returning home when one of the friends stopped him and started talking. Within couple of minutes, the brothers-in-law appeared at the spot and started brutally thrashing Singh. When he tried to escape, one of the brother-in-law shot at Singh. In the melee, the victim got help from a friend, who took him away on a scooter.
Meanwhile, the girl has said that her family has been issuing death threats ever since she married Singh.
Same gotra marriages are a sticky issue for many communities across north India. Situation is worse in areas in and around Haryana, where decrees of Khap Panchayats are taken as law. Last year, Rrapped by the Supreme Court for interfering in consensual marriages of adults, several khaps had gathered at Meham Chaubisi in Rohtak and demanded amendment in Hindu Marriage Act to ban same-gotra (clan) and same-village marriages. In a mahapanchayat chaired by Meham Chaubisi convener Shamsher Kharkara, the khaps said wrong marriage laws giving freedom to adults have become a pain for every parent in the state.
