Panchayat banishes 3 families for 12 years for kin's death

UDAIPUR: Custom prevailed over law when three families were ostracized by a caste panchayat for 12 years at Banoda village in Salumbar for the death of a person even after police had dismissed the case as accidental.
The diktat came in June but the victims had approached SP, Udaipur and sought action against the panchayat. The police reportedly delayed registering the case and have recently started probe into the case after a three-page verdict of the panchayat was passed.
The victims, all brothers, were punished on the suspicion that they had killed one Bheema, son of Govind Patel, who was found dead in a well.
The panchayat imposed heavy penalty and ordered social boycott of the three men and their families.
The diktat came three months after the police had dismissed the case with the post mortem report stating drowning as the cause of death.
In January, Bheema was found dead inside a well. The police after investigation lodged a case under Section 429 of the IPC of accidental death. No injury marks were found on the body. The final report was submitted in March and the deceased's family was given a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh under agriculture and labour death claim.
Bheema's family though was not satisfied with the investigation and alleged that their relatives were responsible for the death.
They approached the village panchayat which held four persons- Roopa Dangi, Dala Dangi, Pema Dangi and Heera Dangi- responsible for the death and ordered their boycott by the village in June.
Still dissatisfied, Bheema's family next sought interference of five choklas (panchayats) of Mewar region.
Around 3,000 people from 74 villages then gathered at Banoda and camped there for six days. To meet the expenses of boarding and food, Rs 10,000 was collected from each household in the village. Besides, a security deposit of Rs 1.11 lakh each from Roopa and Heera, Rs 51,000 from Dala and Rs 21,000 from Pema was collected. Another accused Bhera was asked to pay security money of Rs 22,000.
On June 9, the panchayat ordered boycott of Heera and Roopa for 12 years while the other two were exempted. The security money was forfeited by the panchayat as penalty. Recently, it passed a written verdict, running into three pages, banishing Dala Dangi from the village too.
After their pleas for mercy were ignored by the panchayat, the victims approached SP, Udaipur and pleaded to lodge a plaint against the caste panchayat. "But the police then deliberately delayed registering the case," says Arun Vyas, the advocate for the appellants. However, after a written three-page verdict was passed by the panchayat the police finally registered the case and started investigation.
Udaipur MP Raghuveer Meena claimed ignorance over the case. "This matter wasn't brought to my notice. But now I will do everything possible to help the victims get justice," he said.