Bridegroom Wears Helmet to Protect Head From Pelting of Stones

As per a report:

A Bridegroom from Ratlam, (Milind Ghatwai) who is Dalit by caste, while having his baraat was stoned by upper-caste villagers forcing him to wear a helmet to the marriage venue in Negrun village of Ratlam district in India.

Arguing that lower-caste grooms were not supposed to ride a horse and take out a procession in the village, upper caste villagers had told the family of Pawan Malviya to abide by their illegal diktat. The groom’s father had expressed an apprehension that the procession could be stoned and sought police protection. “The administration had called the two sides for a meeting in which the upper caste villagers agreed to keep their doors closed so that they would be spared the sight of a Dalit groom atop a horse,’’

SDOP R R Bansal told The Indian Express over phone. Though the upper-caste villagers kept their doors closed, the procession was heavily stoned when it reached the panchayat chowk. More than half a dozen people sustained injuries. The baraat was stopped for nearly 90 minutes at the chowk.

When it started again, the groom’s safa had been replaced by a helmet and police personnel posted on rooftops to thwart more stone pelting. Bansal said 30 of the 72 villagers against whom an FIR was filed under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were arrested and more arrests were likely by evening. The police officer said no Dalit groom had taken out such a procession in the village in the past. Several police personnel were deployed at the venue where the marriage took place well past midnight.

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For These Lovers, Sit-ups and Slaps is the Price of Eloping

As per a report:

A village head in Chhota Udaipur district of Gujarat state of India allegedly humiliated an 18-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl for eloping, a police official said. The incident, which took place in Devaliya village of tribal-dominated Chhota Udaipur district 15 days ago, came to light on Thursday after a video of the episode surfaced.

Chhota Udaipur police inspector R.S. Bariya said. Police lodged a complaint on Friday against 12 people and arrested five, he said. In the video, Devaliya village sarpanch Soniyabhai Rathva is seen asking the teenagers to do sit-ups holding each other’s ears in front of a large gathering, including some tribal leaders, who acted as a “panch,” Mr. Bariya said.

The sarpanch allegedly asked the boy to sit on the girl’s shoulder and “we learned that the girl was forced to act like a horse and to run carrying the boy. The sarpanch also collected a fine of Rs. 5,000 from the girl’s parents and Rs. 10,000 from the boy’s parents,” Mr. Bariya said.

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Groom Fails Simple Math Test, Bride Walks out of Wedding

As per a report:

A bride in India walked out of her wedding ceremony after the groom failed to solve a simple math problem, police said Friday. The bride tested the groom on his math skills and when he got the sum wrong, she walked out. The question she asked: How much is 15 plus six? His reply: 17. The incident took place late Wednesday in Rasoolabad village near the industrial town of Kanpur in northern Uttar Pradesh state, local police officer Rakesh Kumar said Friday.

The groom’s family tried persuading the bride to return, but she refused. She said the groom had misled them about his education. “The groom’s family kept us in the dark about his poor education,” said Mohar Singh, the bride’s father. “Even a first grader can answer this.” Local police mediated between the families and both sides returned all the gifts and jewelry that had been exchanged before the wedding, Kumar said.

Last month, another bride in Uttar Pradesh married a wedding guest after the original groom had a seizure and collapsed at the wedding venue. The groom’s family had not revealed that the groom was epileptic. While the groom was rushed to a hospital in Rampur town, the bride asked one of the wedding guests to step in and married him.

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Groom fined 75 Paisa for Cancelling Engagement

As per a report:

Fatehabad: A Local community panchayat in Haryana slapped a fine of 75 paisa on a groom for annulling his engagement nine days before the wedding. The panchayat in Fatehabad imposed the fine after both the parties approached it for compromise.

The man was asked to pay the penalty at the local gaushala (cow shelter). Both the sides also decided not to pursue the case further. Police said Mansi, a resident of Ratia township in Fatehabad district, was engaged to Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of a village in Punjab's Mansa district last January. The families had fixed April 22 as the wedding date.

The woman's uncle, Naresh Sharma, told TOI that after they had made all the arrangements for the wedding and distributed the invitation cards, the man's family sought a car and other items in dowry. When the woman's family refused to meet these demands, the man's family cancelled the engagement. However, the man's family members denied these allegations.

They claimed the man and the woman had decided to call off the engagement during the past year. After the woman filed a complaint with the Fatehabad DSP, the case was referred to the nodal cell and the man sought more time to solve the issue with the panchayat's help. Following this, a panchayat was convened at the police station and the two parties agreed to compromise.

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Gods Receive Compensation for Damaged Crops

As per a report:

Not just rain-hit farmers but gods and goddesses in the district too will receive compensation for the crop losses caused by recent hailstorm and unseasonal rains in the state. The agriculture lands are recorded under names of several gods and goddesses in the revenue land records in the district, said Chandrashaker Chohan, revenue official (Tehsildar) of Hindoli block.Chohan said the names of these gods are sent to the government for compensation.

The amount has already been received under the names of these deities, he added. Compensation for the damaged crops has been received under the names of the temple deities and it will be disbursed on submission of an affidavit by trustees or priests of the temple, said Dhanraj Sharma, revenue official (Thesildar) of Keshoraipatan block. Large swaths of agricultural land in the district are registered in the name of gods and goddesses.

In the erstwhile days, kings and royal families would donate acres of lands to temples under the names of deities dwelling there. Generations of priests and their families, serving in these temples, still earn their livelihood toiling on these lands. Deities of Nolekhaji Maharaj, Sri Kalayanji Maharaj, Raktdantika, Chotmata, Charbhujaji, Devji, Narsinghji, Ragjunathji, Balaji, Chamunda and several other in temples across the district own acres of agricultural land.

Head priest of Keshoraipatan temple, Seshnarayan Sharma, said God Keshoraiji of the temple owns 2,419 bigas of agriculture land across the state. Funds for farmers of 122 villages of Keshoraipatan block have been received and is being distributed among them, Sharma said.

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