Baghpat (UP), Jul 13: In Taliban-style diktats, a panchayat has banned love marriages and barred women below 40 from going out for shopping and using mobile phones outside their homes, an action deprecated by the Centre which asked UP government to ensure that such “illegal” orders are not enforced.
The panchayat in Asara village in Baghpat's Ramala area also ruled on Wednesday that when women leave their homes, their heads must be covered, according to police.
Banning love marriages, the panchayat said those doing so would not be allowed to live in the village.
Deprecating the directives, Home Minister P Chidambaram said, “There is no place for such diktats in a democratic society. If such a diktat is being issued in Baghpat, I would expect the state government to instruct the police authorities to ensure that nobody comes to harm for violating that diktat.
“That diktat has no legal authority and if anybody takes any action against a boy or girl saying that you are violating the diktat, action should be taken against the person who is trying to enforce these illegal codes of conduct. I would expect the state government to take action,” he told reporters in Chandigarh.
IG (Law and Order) B P Singh said in Lucknow that two persons were called for questioning in connection with panchayat orders and a case has been registered after a mob created a ruckus last night to get them released.
The police had called Mokim and Mujahid of Asara village for questioning yesterday in connection with the panchayat orders but a mob collected before a sugar mill in Asara to demand their release and two policemen who went there to clear a traffic jam were beaten up and their motorbike torched, he said.
A case has been registered in connection with the attack on the policemen, he said.
While the diktats created outrage in the country, UP Minister Mohd Azam Khan apparently found nothing wrong with them, saying people have freedom of speech, but the government and the law were there if force was used to make people fall in line.
The panchayat in Asara village in Baghpat's Ramala area also ruled on Wednesday that when women leave their homes, their heads must be covered, according to police.
Banning love marriages, the panchayat said those doing so would not be allowed to live in the village.
Deprecating the directives, Home Minister P Chidambaram said, “There is no place for such diktats in a democratic society. If such a diktat is being issued in Baghpat, I would expect the state government to instruct the police authorities to ensure that nobody comes to harm for violating that diktat.
“That diktat has no legal authority and if anybody takes any action against a boy or girl saying that you are violating the diktat, action should be taken against the person who is trying to enforce these illegal codes of conduct. I would expect the state government to take action,” he told reporters in Chandigarh.
IG (Law and Order) B P Singh said in Lucknow that two persons were called for questioning in connection with panchayat orders and a case has been registered after a mob created a ruckus last night to get them released.
The police had called Mokim and Mujahid of Asara village for questioning yesterday in connection with the panchayat orders but a mob collected before a sugar mill in Asara to demand their release and two policemen who went there to clear a traffic jam were beaten up and their motorbike torched, he said.
A case has been registered in connection with the attack on the policemen, he said.
While the diktats created outrage in the country, UP Minister Mohd Azam Khan apparently found nothing wrong with them, saying people have freedom of speech, but the government and the law were there if force was used to make people fall in line.
