Farmer gets social boycott threat by village panchayat for damage to deity idol; 9 booked
Gondia (Maha): A village panchayat in Amgaon tehsil of Maharashtra's Gondia district imposed a fine of Rs 21,000 on a farmer for damaging the stone idol of a local deity while carrying out land levelling work at his farm, and also issued a threat that he would face social boycott if he failed to pay the amount, police said on Friday.
The farmer, however, defied the diktat and lodged a complaint, following which a case was registered on June 16 against the village sarpanch and eight others in this connection, an official said.
The farmer, Tikaram Pritam Pardhi, a resident of Seetepaar village of Amgaon tehsil was carrying out the land leveling work at his farm on June 12, during which a stone idol of a deity got damaged accidentally, Amgaon police station inspector Vilas Nale said.
The villagers believe that the deity is their kul devta' (clan deity), he said, adding that on getting information about the incident, villagers reached the spot and forced Pardhi to stop the work.
Later, a meeting of panchayat was convened, in which its members accused Pardhi of hurting the religious sentiments of the local residents, and imposed a fine of Rs 21,000 on him, the official said.
In his complaint, Pardhi said the panchayat also ruled that if he failed to pay the fine amount, he would face social boycott, Nale added.
According to police, the panchayat told him that the fine amount would be utilised for the construction of the damaged idol and for animal sacrifice to "appease" the deity.
But Pardhi expressed his inability to pay the money saying that his financial condition is bad and claimed innocence in the episode. Later, he approached the police and lodged a complaint.
Based on the complaint, village sarpanch Gopal Fulichand Meshram, police patil ((village-level police assistant) Ulhasrao Bhaiyalal Bisen, Rajendra Hiwarlal Bisen, Puranlal Bisen, Yogesh Hiralal Bisen, Yadavrao Shriram Bisen, Pratap Lakhan Bisen, Sudhir Hiralal Bisen and Tekchand Dadiram Madavi were booked under various sections of the Maharashtra Prohibition of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2016.
Notices have been issued to all the accused, Nale said.
Sarpanch Meshram said that as per the local tradition, the villagers begin the new crop season every year by worshipping the idol, which got damaged. The amount that Pardhi was asked to pay was meant for the repair of the idol and construction of the small temple-like structure.
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Indian man crosses over illegally into Pakistan to marry Facebook friend, lands in jail
Lahore/Aligarh, Jan 2: A young Indian man crossed over illegally into Pakistan to meet a Facebook friend he wanted to marry, but instead found himself behind bars. And the woman told the local police she does not want to tie the knot.
Badal Babu from the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh was arrested on December 28 in the Mandi Bahauddin district of Pakistan's Punjab province (some 240 kms from Lahore).
Babu, who is in his 20s, crossed the border to meet the Facebook friend with whom he wanted to marry.
Pakistan Police have recorded the statement of Babu's Facebook friend Sana Rani, 21, who said she wasn't interested in marrying him.
"In her statement to police, Sana Rani says that Babu and she have been friends on Facebook for the last two-and-a-half years. But she is not interested in marrying him," a Punjab police officer, Nasir Shah, told PTI on Thursday.
He said Babu illegally crossed the border and reached Sana Rani's Maung village in Mandi Bahauddin, where he was arrested by law enforcers.
When asked whether Babu met Rani, the police officer said he couldn't confirm this.
It is also not independently confirmed whether Rani gave a statement to the police refusing to marry Babu under pressure.
However, a source told PTI that officials of a Pakistani intelligence agency quizzed Rani and her other family members over her relationship with Babu.
Upon his arrest, Babu narrated his "love story" to the police. Babu was detained under Pakistan’s Foreign Act sections 13 and 14 as he was travelling without any legal documents.
Later, he was produced before a court, which placed him in judicial custody for 14 days. The next hearing is on January 10.
Babu's father Kirpal Singh, who lives in Khitkari village under the Barla police station area in the Aligarh district, told the local media that the family learned of his arrest via social media.
"We couldn't believe it. For us, till this moment, we knew that he was working in Delhi, but the next moment, we were shocked to discover that he's in a Pakistani jail. It's like something out of a movie," he said in disbelief.
The family has now appealed to the Indian government, particularly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to intervene for Babu's release.
"We want our son back. We don't know how to bring him home. We are calling on the prime minister to help us," Babu's mother told local reporters.
"He was a simple boy. He never did anything like this before," she added.
Aligarh Superintendent of Police (Rural) Amrit Jain confirmed that they had received a memorandum from the family and would be taking the matter up with the Ministry of External Affairs.
"We will approach the proper channels to provide whatever assistance is necessary and work towards establishing contact with Babu. Our primary goal is to secure his release from custody in Pakistan," Jain said in a statement.
According to family sources, Babu was very active on Facebook, where he reportedly connected with a girl from Pakistan. After informing his parents that he would be heading to Delhi for work, Babu left his village after Raksha Bandhan in August.
Just before Diwali, his family received a video call on WhatsApp, in which Babu reassured them that he was safe, had found a job and was using a friend's phone because he could not afford his own. His family later learned that Babu had somehow crossed the international border near Jammu, although these details remain unconfirmed, the Indian sources said.
This is not the first time someone from India has crossed into Pakistan to meet a love interest developed through social media.
Previously, an Indian woman named Anju travelled to Pakistan to meet her lover. She converted to Islam and married a Pakistani man, Nasrullah.
Last year, Seema Haider, a woman from Pakistan, befriended an Indian man through the PUBG game. She crossed into India via Nepal with her four children and later married him.
Similarly, last year, 19-year-old Pakistani girl Iqra Jiwani developed a friendship with 25-year-old Indian national Mulayam Singh Yadav through an online game. Iqra and Mulayam later married in Nepal.
