A 10-day-old infant was separated from its parents by a village panchayat here who took the child into its custody and ordered the couple to live separately.
KARNAL: A 10-day-old infant was separated from its parents by a village panchayat here who took the child into its custody and ordered the couple to live separately after annulling their marriage saying both belonged to same Gotra (family lineage).
The village panchayat of Oindh village in Nissing area of the district has ordered the couple, Pawan and Kavita, to live as brother and sister as their Gotra was same.
"Their (couple's) marriage was illegal and against the social norms, the panchayat ordered to live them separately and also took into its possession their 10-day old child," panchayat head Rajesh Kumar told.
The boy's side has also been fined Rs 60,000 for violating the social norms and traditions, Kumar said, adding the money would be used for upbringing of the child.
Expressing his helplessness against the panchayat's diktat, Pawan said, "The panchayat had ordered that I and Kavita could not live as husband and wife and that our marriage was illegal since our Gotra was same."
He has lodged a complaint with the police in this regard.
"Pawan had lodged a complaint alleging that he and his wife had been made brother and sister forcibly by the village panchayat," Deputy Commissioner Balbir Singh Malik told.
The complaint is being investigated, he added.
Justifying the panchayat's decision, Minister of state for Archaeology, Museum and Archives Meena Mandal, who is an MLA from Jundla reserved assembly constituency in the state, said, "the two children were at fault for marrying against the social norms, as marriages within the same Gotra are not allowed."
"I would appeal to children not to marry in the same Gotra," Mandal told reporters.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Karnal, A S Chawla denied filing of any complaint either by Pawan or Kavita or their families in this regard.
"We have not received any complaint from any side," he said adding that it was not possible to intervene in marriage disputes without getting a complaint.
"Neither the couple nor any one has not lodged any complaint regarding the minor child being forcibly kept in its custody by the Panchayat," the SSP said.
Chawla said that the police was trying to impress upon the couple and their associates to come forward and lodge a complaint so that the police can take action.
He also said that security could be provided only in case the couple approaches the police saying they apprehended trouble or threat to their life.
Meanwhile official sources in Chandigarh told that the authorities were examining the panchayat's decision of the annulling of marriage. Further action in the matter would be taken after completion of the inquiry, the sources said.
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