Shocked by daughter's inter-caste love marriage, three of Maha family commit suicide

Shocked by a woman's decision to elope and marry a person from a lower caste, her parents and brother committed suicide by jumping off a well in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. The family of four lived happily until their daughter eloped and got married to her beau at a local Shiv Temple in Markanda village on Sunday.

Gadchiroli: Caste discrimination continues to plague Indian society. A family committed suicide after their daughter married a man from a lower caste.

Upset at their daughter's inter-caste love marriage, her parents and brother committed suicide by jumping into a well around a kilometre away from Anand Nagar.

Hours after the news of the tragedy reached the newly-married couple on Monday, they too attempted to commit suicide by jumping into a local river, but were rescued by an alert police team, informed Gadchiroli Police Station officer Shalini Ingole.

The newly-wedded couple has been admitted to a local hospital for treatment. Their condition is reported to be stable, she said.

The family of four lived happily until their daughter eloped and got married to her beau at a local Shiv Temple in Markanda village on Sunday.

According to reports, Wargantiwar (52), a farmer, and his wife Vaishali (43), a daily-wage worker in the district general hospital. They were staying in a rented flat in Anand Nagar town of the district with their son Sairam (19) and daughter Pranali (24).

Apart from pursuing her postgraduate degree, Pranali used to work as a school teacher at a convent school while the boy worked at a private firm.

It all started when- Pranali tried hard to convince her parents about her well-intentioned marriage but when they failed to relent her, she went ahead regardless of her parent's permission. The girl's family strongly opposed 'inter-caste' alliance.

When the family learnt of Pranali's marriage on Monday, they ended their lives.

Prior to committing suicide, they informed the owner of the rented house of their intentions and disconnected the phone before he could attempt to dissuade them from taking the extreme step.

Earlier, the Wargantivars attempted to lodge a police complaint against their proposed inter-caste marriage, but both the boy and girl were adults, so no cognizance was taken. Their bodies were recovered on Monday afternoon.

(With inputs from IANS)