A village council in northern
India allegedly ordered a woman, whose husband ran off with their
neighbour's wife, to live with the abandoned man or pay him
compensation, police said Tuesday.
Police
are investigating a complaint that Rajendra Meghwal asked the council
in the desert state of Rajasthan for help after his wife and their two
children disappeared with Kalulal Meghwal.
Kalulal's
wife Mamta has told police that the council or "khap panchayat" ordered
her to pay Rajendra 300,000 rupees ($4,775) in compensation for her
husband's actions or move in with Rajendra.
"The
woman was not present in the khap meeting but she complained to us that
she has been asked to pay money or live with Rajendra," local police
officer Sanjay Kumar told AFP.
It was unclear whether the woman was asked to live with him as his spouse or as his employee in the house.
Kumar
said officers have started questioning council members in Bundi
district after Mamta filed a harassment complaint with police.
Panchayats often comprise an unelected group of elders, who are seen as the social and moral arbiters of village life.
Although
they carry no legal weight, khap panchayats can be highly influential
and have been blamed for numerous abuses such as the sanctioning of
"honour killings" of women whose actions are deemed to have shamed their
family.
Branded "kangaroo
courts" by their critics, they have been known to hand down public
beatings and other punishments for perceived crimes.
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