A case has been registered against nine members of a 'caste panchayat' for ordering social boycott of a woman and her family as her father-in-law married a woman he was in love with in Maharashtra's Beed, police said.
The order to ostracise the family "for seven generations" was given by the panchayat of Nandiwale (Tirmali) community, a nomadic tribe, a few days back. Before passing the boycott order, it also threatened to kill the woman's family members if they contacted the police in this matter, they said on Friday.
A caste panchayat, known as 'jat panchayat' in Marathi, is a form of internal dispute mechanism of different communities. These panchayats operate as extra-judicial bodies that govern respective tribes or communities.
9 booked
The case against the nine panchayat members was registered at the Ashti police station in Beed based on the complaint lodged by the woman, a labourer, a police official said.
The complainant, 32-year-old Malan Fulmali, lives with her husband Shivaji and their children in Kada Karkhana area of Beed district. She and her family members were asked to appear before the panchayat at Doithan village on 21 September. Accordingly, they went there, where nine 'panch' (juries) and around 800 people from their community were present, he said.
As per the FIR, they were again called the next day. The panchayat members then told her that her father-in-law, Narsu Fulmali, had a love marriage without the consent of the panchayat. He was asked to pay Rs 2.5 lakh as fine for his act, he said.
But as he failed to pay the amount, the panchayat asked Malan and her family to pay the fine. The panchayat members also threatened to kill the family if they contacted the police. But when Malan expressed the family's inability to pay Rs 2.5 lakh, the panchayat ordered a social boycott of the family from the community for seven generations, it said.
Following this order, the woman approached the police and lodged a complaint, the official said.
Based on her complaint, the case was registered against Gangadhar Palwe, Uttam Fulmali, Ganga Fulmali, Chinnu Fulmali, Subhash Fulmali, Baburao Fulmali, Shetiba Kakde, Sayaji Fulmali and Gulab Palwe under sections of the Maharashtra Protection of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2016 and also under sections pertaining to unlawful assembly and criminal intimidation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
"The matter is currently being probed and nobody has been arrested so far in this connection," the Ashti police station official said.
E-bus service launched for tourists at Ajanta Caves
PTI
The Maharashtra tourism department has launched a fleet of 20 electric buses for hassle-free transport of tourists to the Ajanta Caves, an official said on Friday.
The first bus was commissioned on Friday to mark World Tourism Day. The buses will transport visitors from the parking lot to the cave complex.
Talking to PTI, assistant director of the state tourism department, Vijay Jadhav, said, "A fleet of 20 electric buses will cater to domestic and foreign tourists visiting the world heritage site. Earlier, a conventional diesel bus was being operated, and tourists had to wait a long time for the vehicle to get full." With the new fleet of buses, there will be no waiting time, and visitors can experience pollution-free travel, he said.
"The fleet of 20 buses, both air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned, have a carrying capacity of 14 and 22 passengers. We expect that the entire fleet will be operational by October 20. A film on the Ajanta Caves will be shown en route to give visitors an idea about the site," he said.
He further said a tourist-friendly booking system will also be launched.
"The bus service will employ 32 people. The plan is to ensure the service is available every two minutes," he said.
The Ajanta Caves, located around 100 km from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city, comprise 30 complexes with viharas (worship halls) and monasteries with paintings depicting the life of Lord Buddha.
As many as 2,58,619 tourists, including more than 7,000 foreigners, have visited the site from January till August this year, an official from the Archaeological Survey of India.
16-yr-old boy kills uncle
A 16-year-old boy has been detained for allegedly stabbing to death his uncle after a dispute in Maharashtra's Latur city, police said.
The incident took place on Wednesday morning near Arvi locality, on the city's outskirts.
The 42-year-old victim went to his sister-in-law's house to collect his Aadhaar card and bank documents which were apparently in her possession.
However, a heated argument erupted when the woman denied having the documents and began abusing him, an official from MIDC police station said.
The matter escalated and the woman's teenage son allegedly stabbed his uncle in the back with a knife, he said.
The man was critically injured and he later died, the police said.
Following a complaint by the victim's wife, the boy and his mother were detained and booked under relevant legal provisions.
The boy confessed to the crime, the official said.
Latur villagers protest for realignment of state hway 145
Residents of Sakol in Latur on Thursday said they would resume their agitation if their demand for realignment of the Tembhurni-Latur-Deoni state highway 145 is not accepted.
Residents of Sakol in Shiroor-Anantpal tehsil also submitted a memorandum to the collector, a day after they agitated at the collectorate.
"The state highway 145 should be rerouted through Sakol. At the moment, it is going from Sakol medium irrigation project. This is causing inconvenience to people. The highway should be pass via Talegaon-Sakol-Tipral. If our demand is not met, we will resume our stir. We will also boycott upcoming assembly polls," one of the protesters said.
Sakol, with a population of 20,000, is one of the main settlements in Shiroor-Anantpal tehsil here.
More than hundred residents from Sakol and nearby villages such as Rani Ankulga, Ghugi, Sangvi, Jawalga, Waghnalwadi, Shend, and Kanegao had staged a 'rasta roko' on Tuesday.
