Woman, child driven out of home for refusing religious conversion
TNN Dec 24, 2011, 09.19AM IST
Tags:
ROURKELA: A 19-year-old woman and her month-old daughter were allegedly driven out by her in-laws when she refused to be converted.
Police on Friday filed a case after the woman, Subhangini Gandha, appealed to SP (Sundergarh) Sanjib Arrora to intervene in the matter. She alleged that police had initially refused to lodge a complaint.
Subhangini, a resident of Kukuda village in Rajgangpur block, told the SP that she had fallen in love with one Sajit Lakra of Usra village in Kuanrmunda block. The two had developed a physical relation. When Subhangini became pregnant, she asked Sajit to marry her. The accused, however, sought to abort the child and took her to a local hospital. But Subhangini got to know his intentions and fled.
Later, police intervened in the matter and Sajit's family agreed to the marriage. However, Subhangini alleged that her in-laws started pressurizing her to become a Christian. "When I refused to do so, they demanded Rs 1 lakh in cash and household goods such as refrigerator and TV as dowry. When my poor father failed to meet their demands, they drove me and my baby out of their house," Subhangini alleged. "Since then, I have been running from pillar to post to get justice, but Kuanrmunda police refused to lodge a complaint. Finding no alternative, I met the SP," she added.
"We have registered a case. Investigating is on," said the SP. "According to our policy, we try to settle dowry cases by counseling before initiating legal action," Arrora added.
No comments:
Post a Comment