A 21-year-old woman from Latur district in Maharashtra went through the ordeal of having to marry three people and attempted suicide before her possible fourth marriage, before police arrested four people, who were paid thousands of dollars in ‘commission’, in connection with the alleged trafficking.
According to a PTI report, the matter came to light after the victim tried to kill herself by consuming poison when she was pressured into a fourth marriage in Kannadi village (Budruk) in Latur district on Friday evening.
Ashti police station inspector Sharad Pottikar told news agency that cops have registered a case against four accused, including a woman who allegedly arranged the deals and her husband, and are conducting further investigations.
All the accused named in the case were arrested from Tuljapur and Pune.
Thousands in forced marriage “fees”.
According to police, the victim was staying with her parents Latur district in Maharashtra for the last two years due to alleged harassment by her husband. There, she connected with a local resident, who introduced her to a woman from Pune’s Hadapsar district. The second woman promised the victim that she would arrange her marriage.
“The accused allegedly promised to arrange a second marriage for the victim and took her to Pune. There, she was forcibly married to a man in Katraj district. The accused women were allegedly taught $5 lakh from the man to arrange the marriage,” police officials said, quoted by PTI.
Within 10 days of the wedding, the victim was forced to remarry a man from Kurkumbh area of Pune district for a ‘fee’ of Rs. $4.5 lakh. But her ordeal did not stop there.
“With the help of another woman from Tuljapur in Darashiv district, the accused arranged the victim’s third marriage on March 4 with a man from Kannadi (Budruk) village in Ashti tehsil. The accused allegedly collected about $4.5 lakh in this deal as well,” police officials said.
Police suspect that the case may be linked to a wider network involved in trafficking women under the guise of arranging marriages.
Even after arranging three marriages, the accused allegedly continued to exploit the woman. On March 6, they began pressuring her to enter into a fourth marriage.
Unable to bear the psychological trauma and fearing further ill-treatment, the victim allegedly took poison in an attempt to end her life. She is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Shrigonda Tehsil of Ahilyanagar district, where her condition is said to be critical, the police added.
Note: If you need mental health support or know someone who does, please reach out to a professional. Helplines: Al-Asra: 022-27546669; Sneha Foundation India: 044-24640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918, Roshni Foundation (Secunderabad) Contact Numbers: 040-66202001, 040-66202000, One Life: 78930-78930, Seva: 94417-78290.
