Sold for Rs 551, Kesari ends life

If you thought life moved on since you read Kamla’s unfortunate story, Kesari could tell you nothing much has really changed. Auctioned...

If you thought life moved on since you read Kamla’s unfortunate story, Kesari could tell you nothing much has really changed. Auctioned for Rs 551 in the presence of 200 villagers in Chhattisgarh, this 18-year-old tribal girl committed suicide to escape marrying her buyer, Babulal.

She had no other option to defy Adivasi Mahasabha, the supreme authority of Gond tribe, that had arranged her auction in village Gohannala, 133 km from Raipur. Kesari consumed poison on July 23, just hours before her marriage.

The incident has left the villagers shocked and Halal Singh Netam, head of the mahasabha, is reported to have gone underground. The police, on information provided by Babulal, has registered a case of suicide but no arrest has been made so far.

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In the FIR lodged with Sihawa police station, Babulal admitted he had bought Kesari from the auction at village Gohannala on July 14. The girl’s elder sister Kamla Vati claims her parents would have been ostracised if they had resisted the mahasabha’s decision to allow Kesari’s auction.

Traditions demand that if a girl is caught in a compromising posture with a boy before marriage, she either had to marry him or was put on an auction, Kamla Vati said. The boys, who turn up as buyers, are normally from same tribe.

Says IGP, Raipur, Ram Niwas: ‘‘I have asked SP Dhamtari to visit the village and submit a report immediately. If we get evidence that the girl was auctioned, the police will take suitable action.’’ He adds grooms are usually asked to pay the brides — instead of brides’ families offering dowry — in traditional Gond marriages. ‘‘Therefore, it is not easy to term it an auction.’’

But, alleges Subash Mahapatra, the project executive of Forum for Fact Finding Documentation and Advocacy (FFDA) — a Raipur-based NGO — Kesari had been mentally tortured to commit suicide. He wonders why the police have not taken any action against the village sarpanch and the head of the mahasabha. Mahapatra demands a high level probe into circumstances leading to Kesari’s death.

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A week before her auction, Kesari was allegedly caught sleeping with a local youth, Bhuru, who runs a shop in the village.

The village elders, who took exception to her conduct, first asked Bhuru to marry the girl. When Bhuru refused, the matter went to the Adivasi Mahasabha, a body represented by 16 villages.

The mahasabha held on July 14 summoned Bhuru and Kesari. Charges were framed against them for indulging in immoral activity not permitted in the Gond society. ‘‘While Kesari denied having ever approached him, Bhuru claimed he was under the influence of liquor and couldn’t recollect how he landed up with Kesari,’’ recalls Kamla Vati.

Halal Singh Netam, head of the mahasabha, rejected their explanation. He asked Bhuru to pay a fine of Rs 2,500 and put Kesari on auction. Six prospective grooms participated in the bidding. Babulal, the highest bidder, was told to take Kesari away. But the humiliation was too much for Kesari and she decided to end her life.