Hero Image

14 in custody for forcefully marrying off Manipur couple

IMPHAL: Fourteen people, including ten women, who had been arrested for forcefully marrying off a man and a minor girl in the Kha-Potshangbam area of Bishnupur district, were sent to police custody for a week on Tuesday.

On Sunday, villagers of Kha Potsangbama and the neighbouring Upokpi Khunou village in Bishnupur had rounded up a couple, accusing the man and the minor girl of having an affair.

The mob then descended upon the duo, assaulting the couple and manhandling them. When the girl's mother tried to intervene, she was also assaulted. The mob then garlanded the couple with plastic bottles and performed 'Keina Katpa' (forceful marriage).

As the video of the incident later went viral on social media, chief minister N Biren Singh strongly condemned the incident, calling it a barbaric and inhuman act.

On Monday, fourteen people from the two villages, including ten women, were arrested in connection with the incident. They were produced before the Bishnupur chief judicial magistrate on Tuesday and sent to police custody till October 14.

Investigation officer of the case said police received information on Sunday that some residents of Upokpi Khunou and Kha Potsangbam had withheld and assaulted a man and a minor girl at the Kha Potsangbam community hall. Before long, a police team rushed to the spot and rescued the couple and the girl's mother. Following an inquiry, an FIR has been registered under different provisions of the law, including the Juvenile Justice Act.

During initial interrogation, the fourteen pleaded guilty to the charges levelled against them, the officer further said, adding that more persons will be arrested soon.

READ ON APP