Elderly residents in Naurojpur village have been meeting for the past two days with a bizarre problem on hand - one of the villagers has allegedly "repaid" a loan by offering his wife and two daughters.
Himanshu Ranjan (30) took a loan of Rs 4 lakh from his neighbour Sagar Kumar (32) three years ago.
Himanshu had taken the money to open a photography studio, but losses in business rendered him jobless and unable to repay the loan.
Villagers said he shifted to Delhi and worked hard for over six months but couldn't save enough money.
Himanshu returned in March this year and under pressure from Sagar to repay the loan, Himanshu allegedly offered to "sell" his wife and minor daughters. Sagar allegedly agreed and took Himanshu's 25-year-old wife and her two daughters aged between three and five years with him.
When elders in the village on Barbigha-Warsaliganj road, around 60km southeast of Patna, under Nalanda district's Sare police jurisdiction, heard of the matter they intervened.
Emergency meetings were held on Thursday and Friday but remained inconclusive. The Telegraph could not speak to the persons directly involved in the episode because no one is ready to come up and talk about it.
Sare police station house officer Radheshyam Prasad said a police team was sent to the village on Thursday. "We have not received any written complaint from either the woman or her relatives to initiate action against the husband," he told this correspondent over phone.
He claimed Sagar and Himanshu were old friends.
"Himanshu's wife developed intimacy with Sagar in the absence of her husband who settled in Delhi about six months ago," he added. "Prima facie it seems to be a case of love affair and subsequent marriage and not of selling a wife to clear debts."
A district board member Anirudha Prasad, also a resident of Naurojpur village, had allegedly tried to hush up the matter.
"It doesn't sound well in social circles," one of the residents, present at the village meeting, said.
The incident, possibly the first of its kind in Bihar in the recent months, has surfaced at a time when a resident of Khargone district in Madhya Pradesh posted on his social networking site to sell his wife for Rs 1 lakh in order to clear his debt.
The resident, identified as Dilip Mali, was later booked under Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code. Mali's wife had lodged a case against him with Aerodrome police station in Madhya Pradesh. In a bizarre incident, a 30-year-old man hailing from neighbouring Nalanda district allegedly sold his young wife and two minor children to clear his debt.
One Himanshu Ranjan, a resident of Naurojpur village under the jurisdiction of Sare police station in Nalanda district, handed over his wife and two minor children on Thursday to one Sagar Kumar, who had given him Rs 4 lakh as loan about three years ago.
Sagar, (32), a neighbour, had reportedly lent money to Himanshu on interest for setting up a studio to run the family. Himanshu, however, incurred a huge loss in the business and was subsequently rendered jobless. He shifted to Delhi and worked hard for over six months. But he couldn't save much money to repay the loan.
Himanshu returned from Delhi in March this year. As the money lender was pressuring for money, Himanshu offered to sell his wife and minor daughters to return the loan. Sagar happily agreed and took Himanshu's 25-year-old wife and her two daughters aged between three and five years with him.
As the matter came to the knowledge of some elderly citizens of the village on Barbigha-Warsaliganj road, around xxxx they held an emergency meeting with residents on Thursday. The meeting remained inconclusive for the second consecutive day on Friday as Sagar was not ready to relent.
Sare police station house officer Radheshyam Prasad said that he had sent a police team to the village yesterday to inquire into the matter. "We have not received any written complaint from either the woman or her relatives to initiate action against the husband," he told The Telegraph over phone.
The SHO, however, said Sagar and Himanshu were old friends. "Himanshu's wife developed intimacy with Sagar in absence of her husband, who had settled in Delhi about six months ago. Prima facie it seems to be a case of love affairs and subsequent marriage and not of selling wife to clear the debt," he added.
A district board member Anirudha Prasad, also a resident of Naurojpur village, allegedly tried to hush up the matter. "It doesn't sound well in social circles," an elderly citizen present at the meeting to settle the issue, said. Majority of the residents preferred to keep mum for obvious reason.
The incident, perhaps the first of its kind in Bihar in the recent months, surfaced at a time when a resident of Khargone district in Madhya Pradesh posted on his social networking site Facebook seeking to sell his wife for Rs 1 lakh in order to clear his debt.
The resident, identified as Dilip Mali, was later booked under Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code. Mali's wife had lodged a case against him with Aerodrome police station in Madhya Pradesh.
In a bizarre incident, a 30-year-old man hailing from neighbouring Nalanda district allegedly sold his young wife and two minor children to clear his debt.
One Himanshu Ranjan, a resident of Naurojpur village under the jurisdiction of Sare police station in Nalanda district, handed over his wife and two minor children on Thursday to one Sagar Kumar, who had given him Rs.4 lakh as loan about three years ago.
Sagar, (32), a neighbour, had reportedly lent money to Himanshu on interest for setting up a studio to run the family. Himanshu, however, incurred a huge loss in the business and was subsequently rendered jobless. He then shifted to Delhi and worked hard for over six months. But he couldn't save much money to clear the debt.
Himanshu returned from Delhi in March this year. As the money lender was pressuring for money, Himanshu offered to sell his wife and minor daughters to return the loan. Sagar happily agreed and took Himanshu's 25-year-old wife and her two daughters, in the age group of three to five years, with him.
As the matter came to the knowledge of some elderly citizens of the village situated on Barbigha-Warsaliganj road, they held an emergency meeting with the local residents on Thursday. The meeting remained inconclusive for the second consecutive day on Friday as Sagar was not ready to relent.
The station house officer (SHO) of Sare police station Radheshyam Prasad said that he had sent a police team to the village yesterday to inquire into the matter. "We have not received any written complaint either from the woman or her relatives to initiate action against the husband," he told The Telegraph over phone.
The SHO, however, said that Sagar and Himanshu were stated to be old friends. "Himanshui's wife developed intimacy with Sagar in absence of her husband, who had settled in Delhi about six months ago. Prima facie it seems to be a case of love affairs and subsequent marriage and not of selling wife to clear the debt," he added.
A district board member Anirudha Prasad, also a resident of Naurojpur village, allegedly tried to hush up the matter. "It doesn't sound well in social circles," an elderly citizen, who was present at the meeting to settle the issue, said. Majority of the residents preferred to keep mum for obvious reason.
The incident, perhaps the first of its kind in Bihar in the recent months, surfaced at a time when a resident of Khargone district in Madhya Pradesh posted on his social networking site Facebook seeking to sell his wife for Rs.1 lakh in order to clear his debt.
The resident, identified as Dilip Mali, was later booked under section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code. Mali's wife had lodged a case against him with the Aerodrome police station in Madhya Pradesh.
Girl raped
Two youths - Anand Bharti and Bablu Bharti - raped a 15-year-old girl at Khamba village of Aurangabad district late on Thursday night. The victim is undergoing treatment at Aurangabad Sadar hospital. The accused are absconding.
