They were later released on bail. After they allegedly objected to their sister’s proposed marriage with a man from outside their caste, a builder and an assistant professor were arrested by Amreli town police on Saturday. They were later released on bail.
Builder Pruthviraj Manjariya and Bhagirath Manjariya, an assistant professor with Saurashtra University, were arrested after their father, Nankubhai Manjariya filed a complaint against them. In his complaint, Nankubhai, who retired as a senior police inspector (PI) in 2004, stated that his daughter Uma (35), the youngest of his three children, has decided to marry a man from another caste.
“She holds degrees in English literature, law and civil engineering… The level of education among the Kathi community is negligible and highly-educated boys are a rarity as formal education isn’t given importance… Both my sons are pressuring me to marry off my daughter to relatives who are not eligible bachelors,” 75-year-old Nankubhai Manjariya stated in his complaint filed on Friday.
On the basis of the retired PI’s complaint, Amreli town police booked Pruthviraj and Bhagirath under IPC Sections 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 502 (2), (Criminal intimidation) and 114 (Abettor present when offence is committed) on Friday.
“As it is a bailable offence, they were released on bail,” said PI JK Chaudhary while refusing to divulge further details of the investigation.
Talking to The Indian Express, Nankubhai Manjariya said that Uma has decided to marry one Ravindra Jinjala. “Jinjala is an electrical engineer serving in the Industrial Training Institute (ITI). My daughter was also a visiting faculty in the same institute. I, as the father, support her decision, but both my sons are opposed to it because he comes from a different caste. They were behaving aggressively with me,” Nankubhai, said.
However, a police officer privy to the investigation in the case, said, “The two brothers are not opposed to their daughter’s proposed marriage with a man from another caste. Their only contention was that they should have been consulted in the matter.”
The retired PI said Pruthviraj is pursuing a degree in law while Bhagirath, the younger son, holds a doctorate in law.