Forty family members shave heads in purification ritual after tribal woman marries outside caste
Rayagada: In a bizarre incident that highlights the social prejudices still prevalent in rural Odisha, forty members of a tribal woman’s family shaved their heads as part of a purification ritual after she married a man from a different caste in Rayagada district.
The incident took place at Baiganaguda village under Gorakhpur panchayat in Rayagada’s Kashipur block. The ritual also involved sacrificing goats, chickens and pigs in front of the local deity, as reported by The New Indian Express on Saturday.
The woman, in her early twenties, was reportedly in a love relationship with a young man of SC community and they decided to get married. However, their families opposed the union as the man was not a tribal. Despite the opposition, the couple tied the knot.
As per the woman's family custom, if a girl marries outside the tribe, the entire family faces the wrath of the village deity. In case of any violation of the tradition, the family and their relatives must undergo a purification ritual to be accepted into the community, the report added.
Accordingly, the woman’s family members and relatives tonsured their heads and arranged a grand feast for villagers after sacrificing goats, pigs and chickens.
Meanwhile, the district administration directed the block development officer (BDO) of Kashipur to probe the incident after a video of the ritual went viral on social media.
“The team members met the couple’s families who explained that they observed the ritual as per their custom without any compulsion,” TNIE quoted BDO Bijay Soe as saying.
He added the incident has been placed before the higher-ups for consideration of government assistance for the inter-caste marriage.
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
