Delhi: 19-year-old ‘attacked’ by parents over inter-caste marriage

Rajiv Ranjan, DCP (Outer North), said, “We arrested the accused and are conducting an enquiry. We will take further action based on the medical report. The accused told us the marriage was against their wishes.”

In the FIR, Anandi said she married her partner, Ranjan Saini, at a temple in Rohini on Tuesday evening and moved to his home. The two have known each other for four years.

“After the wedding, I went to his place around 3 pm. My mother-in-law wasn’t home… She returned at night. At 3 am, my mother came to take me home. My mother-in-law tried telling her she should leave us because we are married now, but my mother didn’t listen and took me back,” the FIR quotes the woman as saying.

At her parents’ house, the woman was allegedly beaten up by her parents. “I told her I am married now and I want to live with Ranjan. My mother and father thrashed me. They heated a knife and put it on my face… my face was burning. They lifted my clothes and also burned my legs and hands. To scare me, they poured kerosene oil over me,” she alleged in the FIR.

Around 8 am, Ranjan reached her parents’ home and found Anandi lying injured. He called the police and took her to BJRM hospital for treatment.

A senior police officer said, “We recorded the woman’s statement and arrested her mother. After an enquiry, her father was also arrested. We came to know that they are an inter-caste couple and the woman’s family objected to this because they are Brahmins and the man is from the Saini community.”

The FIR against the parents has been registered under IPC sections 324 (causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation). Police said the accused got out on bail as the sections are bailable. The woman’s statement was recorded by a magistrate.

Meanwhile, Anandi told The Indian Express on Thursday that she and her in-laws are still being threatened. “My parents are out. They live near our place and threaten to beat us… kill us. We are scared. What do we do? My relatives are also against this marriage. We can’t even leave our house… I am worried for my husband. We were going to talk to my parents and tell them everything, but they burnt my body with a knife,” she alleged.