MP: Woman forced to carry husband on shoulders as 'punishment'
What's the story
In an inhumane incident, a married woman of a tribal-dominated village in Madhya Pradesh's Jhabhua district was forced to carry her husband on shoulders as a 'punishment' for eloping with her lover, who belonged to a different caste. The appalling incident took place in Devigarh village on Friday, and now the video has gone viral. Police have registered a case. Here's what happened.
What happened
Victim ran away with her lover
The victim, who is 27-year-old, belonged to Bhimpuri village and was married to a man of Devigarh village some time back. She ran away with her lover, who is a resident of Talawali village, and her in-laws traced her to Gujarat. The woman was brought back to the village and presented before the panchayat. The panchayat then pronounced its 'verdict'.
Punishment
As woman struggled to walk, men shamed her
The young woman was caned and asked to carry her husband on shoulders. The video shows that the woman had trouble walking under the weight on her shoulders. She was surrounded by a group of men who hooted and shamed her. One man can also be seen breaking into a dance in front of the victim. Several others filmed the incident.
Twitter Post
Here is the cringe worthy video
#WATCH Madhya Pradesh: Villagers force a woman to carry her husband on her shoulders as a punishment in Devigarh, Jhabua allegedly for marrying a man from a different caste. (12.4.19) pic.twitter.com/aNUKG4qX7p
— ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2019
Action
Police officer said the woman's dupatta was also snatched
Madhya Pradesh police filed a case, under IPC Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation), and others, against nearly a dozen people. Vijay Dawar, ASP, Devigarh, revealed the woman left her home some ten days ago. When she returned, a group of 10-12 men snatched her dupatta. He said, "We are trying to ensure there isn't a repeat of such incidents."
Quote
SP Jhabhua revealed two people have been arrested
"A woman was tortured and humiliated in public. This is really inhuman. Whoever was present there at the time of the incident should be called to the police station. Two people have been arrested so far," said Vineet Jain, SP Jhabhua.