'Is caste bigger than someone's life?'

Asks 19-year-old from Pune, who has approached HC, after her family threatened to kill her and her boyfriend because they disapprove of the boy's caste

Torn apart and threatened by the girl's casteist family, a teenaged couple from Pune has approached the Bombay High Court to get help to safeguard their lives. The couple has been threatened of dire consequences by the girl's family who are opposed to the match because the boy belongs to a lower caste. The matter is set to come up for hearing on Monday.

The couple, both of whom are 19 years old, hail from Talegaon in Pune. They fell in love three years ago while studying at the same junior college. As they neared the end of college, they were planning a future together. But all of those plans came to a screeching halt three months ago, after the girl's family found out about their relationship. They opposed the match because the boy belongs to the Matang community, which is a backward caste, while the girl belongs to the Maratha community.

Threatened to kill

The girl told mid-day, "When my family learnt about our relationship, they got angry. They couldn't digest the fact that their daughter had fallen in love with a boy from a lower caste. They threatened to kill both of us if we ever saw each other again."

It didn't end there. "Their torture increased manifold, leading me to attempt suicide on February 26 with whatever medicine I could find in our house. I was rushed to a private hospital, where I was saved. I was discharged on March 2, but local police didn't even bother taking my statement and swept the matter under the carpet to save my parents and uncle," she added. On March 22, the girl's uncle was so infuriated with her that he pointed a country-made pistol to her forehead. The girl claims she was then kept in seclusion by him, not even being allowed to study or leave home.

The girl then got to know that her family was planning on taking her to Tamil Nadu. Somehow, she managed to call her boyfriend and asked him to come to Daund railway station on April 27 if he really loved her. He showed up and brought the girl with him to Mumbai.

Cops can't be trusted

Trouble awaited them here too. "The day I ran away from my family, my boyfriend and his parents started getting threats from my parents and uncle. His father, who is a constable with the Pune police, was pressured by superiors and asked to lookout for his son. We had no choice but to approach the court for our safety, as even cops can't be trusted in this matter," she added.

The teary-eyed teen said, "All we want is peace. I don't want to go back to my family. We love each other, irrespective of caste. Is caste bigger than someone's life? Why are they thirsty for our blood? What crime have we committed?"

The constant threats to their life have pushed the boy towards suffering a nervous breakdown. He ends up screaming randomly because he feels someone has come to kill him and his girlfriend. The couple has taken refuge at the home of one of his relatives in Mumbai. "I know we have to wait for two more years for him to attain the legal age for marriage but will we survive for two years? We need the support of the court and the society," she said.

The couple has at least one family member in their corner, the girl's 21-year-old cousin. He said, "I believe in my sister. I don't know why our families are making a big fuss about this caste stuff. Casteism has blinded them to the point where they aren't even thinking twice before threatening to murder their own child. I am doing my bit to help these two."

Advocate says

Nitin Satpute, who is the counsel for the couple, said, "We are urging the court to provide round-the-clock security to my client and her partner. Also, preventive action has to be taken against her family as they might harm the couple. The matter will come up for hearing on Monday; the couple is counting hours and minutes to it as the girl's family is in Mumbai looking for them."

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