Marriage solemnised behind bars

Expressbuzz, Feb 18, 2009

BHAWANIPATNA: It was straight out of a Bollywood pot-boiler. Jitendra Sunani and Tapaswini Bag of Kaugopna village in the district fell in love despite the caste barrier. The girl is a student of a local high school and the boy a mason. Due to the relationship, the girl conceived and the couple in the absence of social acceptance absconded.

After the parents of the girl lodged an FIR, the couple were apprehended by Bhawanipatna Sadar Police. The boy, charged under sections 366 and 376 of IPC, was sent to jail custody and the girl sent to short-stay home Parents’ Care. However, as the girl complained of life risk there she was shifted to another short-stay home Suprabhat Swadhar Home. The girl gave birth to a child there. But the parents of the girl refused to accept her. With the initiative of Collector R S Gopalan and authorities of Suprabhat Swadhar Home, the marriage between the girl and was boy was solemnised on the district jail premises at Bhawanipatna on Sunday which was attended by cross-section of society. In the presence of Gopalan, jail superintendent Dasarathi Sarangi played the father of the groom and District Social Welfare Officer Subash Chandra Digal acted as father of the bride and performed ‘kanyadan’.