Family Ostracized, Fined Rs 30K for Inter-Caste Marriage in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The scourge of the caste system still continues even in the capital city of Odisha. A family in the Raghunathpur area of Bhubaneswar was ostracized by the neighbours because their daughter got married to a man of another caste. The targeted family was also pressed to pay up a fine of Rs 30,000 for this inter-caste marriage.

The affected family lodged a complaint at Nandankanan police station on Tuesday regarding this caste-based atrocity. In her complaint, a woman named Rambha Dalei (55) alleged that her neighbours ostracized her family and imposed a fine worth Rs 30,000 when her daughter married a man outside their caste.

This family has been barred from attending social functions and post-funeral rites in the locality only because they have not agreed to pay up the fine.

Rambha’s husband is paralysed and bedridden. She is a daily wager. So, she is unable to pay up the hefty fine imposed by the neighbours.

Social activists demanded prompt police action against the guilty as inter-caste marriage is a family’s personal matter.