PUNE: First FIR under newly enacted Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2016 has been lodged against 13 members of the caste council today at Kondhwa Police Station in Pune.
Eleven families of Telagu Madelwar Parit Community of Pune today lodged a FIR against 13 panch members of their community for boycotting them under the Social Boycott Act. The act came into existence on July 3, 2017 after President of India signed it. Maharashtra is the first state enacting the law against social boycott, and today, first FIR was lodged under the law.
Satish Govekar, police inspector, Kondhwa, said, “We have lodged the FIR against 13 people of the caste panchayat as per the complaint by eleven families of the community. We have filed FIR under Section 3 (IV), (V) and (VII) under the Social Boycott Act.”
Milind Deshmukh of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, said, “Pune has 700 families of this community and 120 are boycotted for various reasons. 40 families have approached us and 11 have lodged a FIR. Earlier we used to approach police to file complaint but police did not know under which section they should file the complaint, therefore, the accused used to get bail and eventually get free. But with the existence of special law, the caste councils will be punished for boycotting people.”
The Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act 2016 was implemented on July 3, this year, after President signed the draft. Maharashtra is the first state to implement the social boycott law. Under the Act, social boycott is a punishable offence which includes fine up to Rs 5 lakh and imprisonment up to seven years. Families, communities, individuals can now be punished under the law if they are found guilty. Reasons can be lifestyle, dress or vocation, religious rituals and inter-caste marriages.
Complaints by boycotted families: Rekha Indurkar said, “jat panchayat of our community boycotted us in 1997 when we married. I belong to Jain Marwadi and my husband belongs to Telagu Parit community. We were boycotted for inter caste marriage. Since then, nobody from our community invite us for festivals, wedding ceremonies and even for last rites. We have been facing mental torture for many years. We don’t want our kids to know what we have gone through and they should not be suffering same problems. Hence we have been approaching ‘jat panchayat’ to take us back in the caste but of no use.”
Kottapally Chandraram, 62 years old, said, “we did not want to approach police against jat panchayat, but they have left us with no option. My family is boycotted after both my sons and daughters did inter-caste marriage. Earlier, we had approached police but they could not lodge FIR as there was no law. As we came to know that law has been implemented we decided to lodge FIR. We want members of caste council to stop the illegal practice of boycotting people.”