Family conducts ‘shradh’ of daughter who elopes with man of different faith

The family of a young woman, who eloped and married a man of a different religion, performed the ‘shradh’ ceremony of their living daughter in West Bengal’s Nadia district.

The college student’s family said the ‘shradh’ was held as she brought dishonour to the members and she is “dead" to them.

The ritual was conducted 12 days after she eloped with the man and married him elsewhere.

“She is as good as dead to us. We had arranged her marriage but she did not even want to listen to us. She brought disrepute by leaving us in this way. Enough is enough," her uncle Somnath Biswas told reporters on Sunday.

All rituals of ‘shradh’ were followed including tonsuring of heads. A garlanded photo of the woman was also placed where the priest conducted the ceremony.

“We have also burnt all her personal belongings," her mother said.

The family had arranged the marriage for the second-year student of a local college but she revolted. After arguments in the family several times in the family, she left home with a youth, who belonged to a different religion.

Biswas did not clarify if the youth being from a different faith influenced their decision.

The girl’s father works abroad but he extended support to the family’s decision, according to Biswas.

Sources close to the couple said the woman is with her in-laws elsewhere in the district and being counselled by psychologists.

A senior police officer said, “We came to know about the incident but can’t take any action on our own as she is an adult. No complaint was filed by anyone in this regard."

India