Lucknow, Aug. 28: Firdause had recently started spending time in front of the mirror, admiring herself in a salwar kameez or a sari. She was only 14 but was expecting her husband of one month to come and take her to his home soon.

Shahzad Alam, 30, did come but to pronounce a triple talaq while she was sleeping, and stormed out.

Firdause was married last month after a seven-year “baliq (engagement)” to Shahzad. Both live in the Purana Kasbe area in Muzaffarnagar district of western Uttar Pradesh.

Firdause was distraught after the divorce on August 22 and her family at its wits’ end as relatives made snide remarks. But the local leaders in the minority-dominated district infamous for its crimes against women were not willing to let Shahzad go scot-free.

As the rare case of triple talaq of a minor girl set off a fresh debate on the system among the local Muslim clergy (as also among their counterparts in Lucknow), the residents held a panchayat yesterday and decided to socially boycott the groom’s family.

“The villagers are angry over the shameful incident and we are concerned over the future of Firdause. Temporarily, we have socially boycotted the family of the groom and referred the case to the local kazi to decide on the divorce,” said panchayat chief Mohammad Ismail.

The groom’s family alleged that the panchayat humiliated Shahzad’s father and demanded compensation.

Firdause and Shahzad failed to live as husband and wife because she was unwilling to shift to his house, the groom’s brother Afzal further alleged. He claimed that the panchayat even locked up Shahzad in a room during its meeting. “They are out to settle some score,” Afzal said. His family is thinking of moving court, depending on the kazi’s decision.

“After marriage, Firdause was living at our place, hoping her husband would soon take her to his house. But that did not happen. The groom came one day this week when Firdause was asleep, uttered triple talaq in front of all of us and left. We are in a state of shock,” the girl’s father Israul Mahmood said.

He added that the baliq was held when Firdause was a child and had agreed on a “nikah (marriage)” once she attained puberty. Last month, the nikah was performed as Firdause turned 14.

The locality was aware of the engagement among the couple who live with their families in a small colony of industrial labourers. Muzaffarnagar, which has a majority population of Muslims and Jats and a highly feudal society, is known for its small-scale industries.

“The Muzaffarnagar incident throws much more light on the abuse of the triple talaq system,” said Maroof Khan, a social worker. Last Tuesday, the National Commission for Women decided to move the Supreme Court this week seeking directives on the misuse of triple talaq.

The Jamait Ul Ulma Hind, a social organisation that documents the plight of women due to miscarriage of justice, is leaving for Muzaffarnagar tomorrow for a spot survey.