In Narol, Gujarat, the family of a bride allegedly killed her 60-year-old Dalit father-in-law after being angered by an inter-caste marriage. Police have registered a case of murder and under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against six people, arresting five of them so far.
According to reports, the bride’s family was furious after her marriage to Sunny, a Dalit man. On Thursday afternoon, when Sunny’s elder brother dropped their parents near the Usmanpura metro station for cleaning work, the bride’s relatives including her uncles, aunts, and brother-in-law arrived at the spot and attacked the couple with sticks and rods. Witnesses said the attackers hurled caste-based abuses before brutally beating them.
Some passersby intervened and managed to rescue the injured couple. However, after returning home, the victim, Bhailal Vaghela, began to have breathing problems and was rushed to LG Hospital in Maninagar, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
The Narol police said the accused, identified as Raju Parmar, Mahesh Parmar (uncle), Lili Parmar, Kalavati Parmar, Mahesh Parmar (brother-in-law), and Prem Parmar, have been charged with murder, assault, and under the SC/ST Act. Five have been arrested, while one woman, Jyoti, is still absconding.
Inspector V. J. Chavda said, “The accused were angry over their daughter’s marriage to a Dalit man. To satisfy their rage, they took a life.”
The victim’s family said they had been receiving threats from the bride’s relatives even before the incident. Police officials added that further investigation is underway and more details will emerge soon.
This story was originally published in theobserverpost.com.