Patna, Feb. 18: Sanjana’s dream of a perfect wedding was massacred within 24 hours of her marriage to a CRPF sub-inspector, who allegedly beat her up black and blue because of a “fault” in a ritual.
The marriage ceremony on Thursday turned into a horror tale for the 22-year-old Sanjana (name changed) the next morning when Manish Kumar, 30, the paramilitary personnel posted in Bokaro, found a glitch in a “vidaii” ritual and started creating a ruckus. Not only did he beat up Sanjana mercilessly, Manish allegedly assaulted his mother-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law as well.
The incident took place in the Konhara Ghat area under the Nagar police station of Hajipur, about 25km from the state capital.
On being informed about the incident by some neighbours of Sanjana, police went to her home. The cops, however, could not take any action because Sanjana’s kin had not lodged any FIR against Manish fearing social stigma.
“They should have lodged a complaint. The groom, we think, is a bit unstable. How can a man beat up his newly-wed wife in front of her parents and other members in the family? She was beaten up brutally. The girl’s family is in a state of shock,” Nagar police station inspector (Town) K.M. Gupta told The Telegraph today.
“Sanjana’s mother tried to pacify Manish. But he dragged her quite a distance and beat her up. The paramilitary personnel then got hold of a rod and started being up Sanjana’s brother and sister violently,” the inspector added.
The groom had some friends with him, who, too, allegedly joined him in the assault. “After the wedding was over on Thursday evening, most of the people who had come with Manish left for their home at Manoa village, about 10km from Konhara Ghat. Trouble broke out on Friday morning when Sanjana’s family was getting ready for the rituals of sending the girl off to her in-law’s place,” the officer said.
According to a wedding ritual, a bride’s mother hands over some paddy to her son-in-law, symbolising that she is handing her daughter to him.
“When Sanjana’s mother was performing the ritual, she took away some grains of paddy from Manish’s hands. Witnesses said this was part of a banter that usually takes place during any wedding. But the act apparently angered Manish, who abused his mother-in-law and attacked the girl,” the officer said.
On seeing the two women being attacked by the groom, the girl’s kin retaliated. However, they failed to match Manish’s strength and overpower him.
“The villagers, who were shocked to witness the incident, intervened and stopped the brawl. After the incident, Sanjana refused to go with Manish. He left the venue with his friends, leaving the bride behind,” another police officer said.
He added that Manish was also accused of allegedly tearing Sanjana’s mangal sutra (a necklace worn by married Hindu women) during the assault.
When contacted, a relative of Sanjana said on condition of anonymity that they did not approach the police fearing that she might be ostracised if the news of the incident spread.
“Though the incident is true, we will not lodge any complaint with the police. We will rather try to resolve the dispute at the panchayat level,” he added. Repeated attempts to contact the CRPF sub-inspector or his family failed.