First FIR under the Social Boycott Act lodged in Pune
First FIR under newly enacted Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2016 has been lodged against 13 members of the caste council on Monday at Kondhwa Police Station in Pune.
Eleven families of Telugu Madelwar Parit Community of Pune on Monday lodged an FIR against 13 Panch of their community for boycotting them under the Social Boycott Act. The act was come into existence on July 3, 2017 after the President of India signed it. Maharashtra is the first state enacting the law against social boycott.
Satish Govekar, police inspector, Kondhwa, said, “We have lodged an FIR against 13 people of the caste panchayat as an FIR lodged by eleven families of the community. We have filed an FIR under Section 3 (IV), (V) and (VII) under the Social Boycott Act.”
Milind Deshmukh, Maharashtra Andhashradha Nirmulan Samiti, said, “Pune has 700 families of this community and 120 are boycotted for various reasons. Forty families have approached us and 11 have lodged an FIR. Earlier, we used to approach police to file a complaint but the police did not know under which section they should file the complaint. Hence, the accused used to get bail and eventually go scot-free. But with the existence of special law the caste councils will be punished for boycotting people.”
Social Boycott Act
The Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act 2016 is 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.
Families, communities, individuals can now be punished under the law if they are found guilty
The complaints
Rekha Indurkar said, “Jat Panchayat of our community boycotted us in 1997 when we married. I belong to Jain Marwadi and my husband is 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 my kids to know what we have gone through and they shouldnot be suffering same problem. 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 didnot want to approach police against Jat Panchayat but they have left no option to us. My family is boycotted after both my son and daughter did inter-caste marriage. Earlier we had approached police but they couldnot 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.”