This story is from April 5, 2018

Dalit baraat row: Kasganj administration says bride is a minor

Dalit baraat row: Kasganj administration says bride is a minor
<p>Sanjay has dared to take his baraat to Sheetal’s house through the Thakur locality<br></p>
LUCKNOW: The controversy over the baraat of 27-year-old Dalit youth from Hathras took a new turn on Wednesday with the Kasganj administration saying that the girl he was going to marry was a minor.
Sanjay Kumar, a law graduate from Hathras, had announced that he would reach his bride Sheetal’s residence riding a horse in a 2km marriage procession that would pass by homes of Thakurs of Nizampur village in Kasganj district, breaking the centuries-old divide between Dalits and Thakurs.

The Kasganj administration has already made an alternative route map for an 800-metre long procession, saying this was done to avoid tension between the upper castes and Dalits. Now, in its report jointly prepared by SSP Piyush Srivastava and district magistrate RN Singh, the administration has told the parents of the girl to marry her off only if they can prove she has turned 18.
The report has attached a handwritten testimony from the headmaster of the primary school where Sheetal studied till class II that says that she is two months short of turning 18. The family, however, says that the administration is harassing them to favour the dominant Thakur caste. Sanjay has dared to take his baraat to Sheetal’s house through the Thakur locality
‘Will break caste divide tradition’
The girl’s family and the prospective groom are now contemplating a bone test to challenge the UP government’s claims on Sheetal’s age. “We will go for a detailed medical test, if required. But we will marry for sure. It’s an arranged marriage and we will break the tradition of caste divide in this state.” insisted Sanjay.
The girl’s family has already sent several letters to UP CM and police chief, seeking protection on the day of marriage. Nizampur sarpanch Shanti Devi, who belongs to Thakur caste, refuses to help the couple as she doesn’t ‘want to see bloodbath’.
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About the Author
Rohan Dua

Rohan Dua is an Assistant Editor with Times of India. As an itinerant reporter, he has walked a marathon from rustic farms to idyllic terrains across Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to report extensively on the filial politics, village triumphs and palace intrigues. He likes to sneak into, snoop and sniff out offices for investigative scoops, some of which led to breakthrough probes in the Railgate, Applegate, AW chopper scam, IPL fixing and drug scam. His stories nailed Pakistan's involvement with damning evidence in two Punjab terror attacks at Pathankot and Gurdaspur.

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