Woman Told To Give Up Government Benefits For Marrying Outside Caste

A village 'jaat panchayat' (group of caste leaders) has allegedly forced a woman, who married a man from another caste, to give a written submission that she would not avail government benefits meant for the Scheduled Tribes (STs). This prompted the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) to seek action against the village sarpanch.

The Rayambe village sarpanch has misused his rights, a local VBA leader claimed, and demanded registration of a case against the 'jaat panchayat' in Maharashtra.

The woman, hailing from Walvihir village in Igatpuri taluka of Nashik, recently got married to a man from another caste, sources said.

On May 5, when the couple came to the man's house in Rayambe village, also located in the same taluka, some people belonging to the woman's community got enraged.

They called the couple to the panchayat and allegedly forced the woman to submit in writing that she will not take government facilities meant for the STs as she had married a man from another caste.

Sources said that the panchayat made the woman and her husband sign the letter and put the sarpanch's stamp on it.

Reacting to this, VBA's Trimbakeshwar unit president Umesh Sonawane told reporters that the government encourages removal of differences among castes and also gives financial aid for inter-caste marriages.

"In this case, the sarpanch has misused his rights and should not have done so. Therefore, he should be removed from the post and a case should be registered against the jaat panchayat,"

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