SHILLONG, May 5: A woman has filed an FIR against the elders of her village Dorbar (council) on Friday for burning her house as a punishment for remarrying.
The 36-year-old and mother of four resides at Warmawsaw, which is 50-km from Nongpoh.
She had been a widow until two weeks ago before she married a 40-year-old man from the same village.
The Warmawsaw Dorbar, however, did not approve of her marriage, and instead imposed a fine of Rs 32,000 on her if she wanted to stay in the village.
When the woman failed to pay the amount as demanded, members of almost 300 families of the village set her house on fire on April 26.
“The villagers threw away some of her belongings in a river while the rest is being kept at the village Dorbar hall. We’ve advised her not to return to her village but to lodge a complaint,” rights activist Agnes Kharshiing said.
The Patharkhmah police outpost at Warmawsaw has been ordered to start an investigation and to submit a report by Monday.
The State Women’s Commission together with the police will visit the village on Saturday.
Women’s rights activists across the State said the Warmawsaw incident sheds further light on the rise in crimes against women in Meghalaya.
