Anti-dowry hunger strike

Bettiah: Opening a front against dowry-seekers, a 22-year-old village girl has launched a hunger strike in front of the collectorate in Motihari along with her parents to press for the arrest of her prospective groom, Manoj Kumar, whose family allegedly called off his marriage with her over dowry.

Virtually on a warpath now, the girl, whose life was confined to the four walls of her house, told reporters in Motihari that she and her family members would take their strike to the logical conclusion.

“We’ll prefer to die than discontinue our fast till Manoj Kumar is arrested,” said the girl.

“Our demand from the district administration is to order the arrest of Manoj Kumar who is set to marry some other girl on June 10,” she said.

The girl, who belongs to Kushwanahinagar under the Dhaka block of East Champaran, is on a fast-unto-death along with her parents from Wednesday. She is, however, livid at the treatment meted out to them.

“So far, no one from the district administration has even bothered to approach us,” she said. The district administration continues to be evasive in its reply in this connection.

She alleged that Manoj Kumar had cheated on her after his family members cancelled the marriage and subjected her to sexual exploitation with the promise of marriage.

According to police, Manoj Kumar, a resident of Nandpur Dhekaha village (in Dhaka area), who works as a contract teacher in a government school, was to marry a girl belonging to Kushwanahinagar (in Dhaka block) on April 27. But few days before the marriage, Manoj’s family members cancelled the marriage after the bride’s side declined to accept additional demands of dowry, which included Rs 5 lakh and a motorcycle among other items.

Manoj’s father, Rameshwar Prasad, was arrested on June 6, a day after an FIR was lodged in this connection.

Courtesy: The Telegraph