Tribal couple forced to plough field for defying marriage norms in Odisha
Bhubaneswar, Jul 11 (PTI): A tribal couple in Odisha’s Rayagada district was allegedly forced to plough a field with a yoke placed on their shoulders as a form of public punishment for marrying against community traditions, officials said on Friday.
The alleged incident took place at Kanjamajodi village within Kalyansinghpur police limits on Wednesday, they added.
A purported video of the incident, which went viral on social media on Friday, shows the young man and woman being paraded like oxen with a yoke strapped on their shoulders, made to plough a field in front of villagers and community elders.
PTI, however, could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
According to villagers, the couple — who reportedly got married in defiance of customary tribal norms — were subjected to a public 'purification' ritual.
The young man is alleged to have married his paternal aunt (father’s sister), which is considered a taboo by the community due to their blood relation.
Once the relationship came to light, a kangaroo court of village elders reportedly convened and ordered the punishment, carried out in full public view.
After performing the 'rituals', the community leaders allegedly asked the couple to immediately leave the village. Their current whereabouts remain unknown.
Village head Biswanath Kurshika said, "We performed the 'purification' rituals and punished them so that they can get rid of the sin they have earned for marrying within the blood relation."
If the rituals were not conducted, the villagers would have faced crop loss as there would be no rain in the area, he claimed.
Rajendra Kurshika, another villager, said, "The rituals were performed in accordance with our tradition and they (couple) were separated."
Terming the act as ‘inhuman’, Rayagada sub-collector Ramesh Kumar Jena said he will visit the village on Saturday to inquire about the incident.
"Those found guilty during the inquiry will face legal action," Jena said.
When culture becomes vulture !
— Amiya_Pandav ଅମିୟ ପାଣ୍ଡଵ Write n Fight (@AmiyaPandav) July 11, 2025
A scene from Rayagada district of #Odisha ! A boy n girl who love each other are forced to plough in public just like bullocks as punishment !
It's inhuman indeed ! should be stopped @Ashok_Kashmir @irfhabib @BabelePiyush @amityadavbharat pic.twitter.com/4w2hNaMGy5
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
