Centenarian on hungerstrike against 'harassment' by granddaughter-in-law
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/centenarian-on-hungerstrike-against-harassment-by-granddaughterinlaw/473405/
Express News Service Posted: Jun 09, 2009 at 0204 hrs
Rajkot In an incident that could give saas-bahu soaps a run for their
money, the 105-year-old patriarch of a Rajkot family is on a hunger
strike accusing his granddaughter-in-law of harassment. Some 60
members of his family are also with him.
The family's estranged daughter-in-law, they claim, has been harassing
them to no end and there was no other way to stop it. From
105-year-old Arjan Thummar to five-year-old Abhay, these 60-odd
members of the Thummar family have been staging their dharna in the
scorching heat outside their home in Mahudi gav for two days now. They
claim that Rekha (28), the daughter-in-law, has been a source of
constant harassment. Rekha, on her part, claims it is her husband's
family that has been mentally and physically harassing her.
Estranged for over a decade now, Arjan's son, Shantilal, says his wife
has been harassing his extended family, including his father, his five
brothers and their children.
Rekha had married Shantilal in 1996; and after the marriage collapsed,
she filed as many as five police complaints under different sections
against various members of her husband's family, alleging mental and
physical torture.
These cases were registered with police stations in different places
like Junagadh, Dhoraji, Jamkandorna, Jetpur and Jamnagar, between 1999
and 2004. The Thummars said they have been harassed by the police and
lawyers all these years as Rekha has a "good rapport" with the police.
The Thummars have submitted a memorandum to the Rajkot commissioner of
police. While the Malavyanagar police station has begun investigating
the complaint, the Thummars maintain that they want immediate action
against the policemen and lawyers, who, they claim are supporting
Rekha on "personal grounds". "The police keep trooping into our home
every now and then, harassing and even threatening the family,'' they
claimed. Arjan, who is on an indefinite fast, said, "I won't eat until
justice is done to us."
After their divorce, Rekha has been receiving Rs 3,500 as alimony
every month from Shantilal over the last five years. However, she
claims that her belongings are still with the former in-laws, which
she has been trying to get back.
Rekha and Shantilal have two children— a son (5) and a daughter (7)..
Both are in Shantilal's custody. "I pay alimony to her. I cannot
understand why she is doing this to us and what more does she want,"
said Shantilal.
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