Hours after they got married, Dalit couple kills self

Shahjahanpur: An 18-year-old girl and a 22-year-old man allegedly opted to end their life by consuming poison, rather than face parental opposition, here on Friday. A little more than 4 hours earlier, they had got married in a temple near their village.

The incident happened at Gora Bakania village of Jaitipur under Jaitipur police station. According to the police, in their suicide note, the couple said their families would never agree to their marriage, forcing them to end their lives. Both were Dalit. While the girl was from the Dhanuk community, the boy was a Jatav. They had been facing intense opposition from their families which considered the match unsuitable.

Superintendent of police, rural, R K Bhartiya told TOI, “There was no difference between the financial status of both families, but they opposed the young couple’s decision to get married, instead of counselling them or giving them some kind of guidance. Traditional thinking about each other’s community is still an issue in rural areas of the district. The bodies were handed over to the family members after post-mortem. The situation is peaceful in the village and a clash between the families doesn’t seem to be a possibility.”

The couple, Atul Kumar and Sumitra Devi, lived in adjacent houses and were in a relationship for a long time. However, their families shared an acrimonious relationship and opposed the match.

Piecing together the train of events that led to the suicides, police said Atul was sent to Delhi for further studies while Sumitra was not allowed to study further.

Atul had returned home on Wednesday to get some documents and was supposed to have left for Delhi on Thursday night. However, instead of going back, he along with Sumitra headed for the Sati Mata temple situated outside the village. Both got married on their own at around 11.30 pm.

At 3 am , Sumitra returned home and informed her parents about her wedding and that she had consumed poison.

Meanwhile, Atul called his father Parshuram and told him that he had consumed poison after marrying Sumitra and was waiting for them at the temple. His parents immediately rushed there, but Atul had died by then.

Sumitra’s family took her to the community health centre in Tilhar, where doctors declared her dead. Mukesh Kumar, her father, said, “My girl went missing in the night and returned home at 3 am to tell us that she had married Atul. When I got angry with her, she said that she had consumed poison and would not trouble anyone any more. We immediately took her to the hospital but she did not survive.”

Source: The Times of India