Author: PTI
Publication: Outlook
Date: August 2, 2008
URL: http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=594712
A Hindu man who married a Muslim girl was
beheaded after a kangaroo court ordered his 'execution' at a village in Murshidabad
district of West Bengal.
The villagers did not allow the man's hapless
wife to approach the police for a fortnight.
The police said today that the girl Munera
Bibi from Lakshanpur village met and fell in love with Shailendra Prasad from
Bihar while she was working as a maid servant in Mumbai. They got married
two and half years ago and the girl is now the mother of a 10-month-old child.
Religion was never a problem for the couple
until she came to her own village in the district on July 1 with her husband
who concealed his religious identity under the name Munna Sheikh.
But soon the girl's father Ansaria Sheikh
became suspicious of his son-in-law's religion on July 14 and reported this
to village elders. A 'salishi' (kangaroo court) comprising 22 members summoned
Prasad and discovered his true religious identity. He was awarded 'death sentence',
sources said.
On July 17 the man's beheaded body was found
in a gunny bag in a jute field but as there was no complaint, the police failed
to identify the person, the sources said.
Ten days later, the girl, her mother and brother
went to Behrampore police station and lodged a formal complaint after which
the incident came to light.
The police said three perons have been arrested
in this connection.
"We tried to go to the police but the
villagers forced us to stay indoors and threatened us with the same fate if
we go to the police." the girl said.
The father of the girl and many other villagers
are absconding.