Patna, Jul 4 (IANS): "Unusual" marriages are becoming common these days in Bihar where couples pay no attention to the family relationship they have, or the marital status of either, before tying the knot.
A sensational incident took place in Muzaffarpur district's Bhaura Kalan village where a woman eloped with her son-in-law.
The family members remained unaware of the incident, until they returned home and found to their shock that she has married her son in-law. This became a hot topic for gossip in the area.
The daughter of the woman then filed a written complaint with the police.
"The woman's daughter levelled allegations against her husband having a second marriage without taking a divorce from her," said R.K. Singh, the investigating officer of this case.
"When we enquired with them (the couple in question), they presented a court marriage certificate to us. The accused woman and her son in-law claimed that they are happy with the marriage. Now, we are looking into its legal aspect," he said.
The woman arranged her daughter's marriage with the youth a year ago, and the couple used to stay in his in-laws' house in Bhaura Kalan. During the time, the woman fell in love with her daughter's husband.
Another unusual marriage was reported in Bihar's Jamui district when a nephew tied a knot with his already married maternal aunt.
A video of their marriage in local court also surfaced on social media where the nephew is seen putting vermilion on the head of his aunt in presence of court officials and she touches his feet.
The man was identified as Chandan Kumar, 22, an auto driver in Mumbai, where he used to live with his maternal uncle.
Chandan admits that he fell in love with his aunt. When the Maharashtra government imposed a lockdown during the second wave of the Covid, Chandan, along with his uncle and aunt, returned to their homes in Jamui's Ratanpur and Mananpur villages, respectively.
Chandan's uncle was unaware of the illicit relationship between his wife and his nephew even as Chandan, instead of staying in his native village, came to Mananpur.
On June 26, the uncle caught his wife and Chandan in a compromising position inside the house. Subsequently, he threw them out of the house.
Chandan, after the marriage, went along with his wife to Mumbai.
Meanwhile, a family of Bihar's Rohtas district went into shock after learning that one of its members Golu Kumar tied the knot with a eunuch.
Golu met with eunuch named Nandani Kumari during a dance function a year ago and they fell in love with each other. They secretly married and eloped from the village. They were residing in rented accommodation in Kargahar village.
"When we located the rented house of Golu in Kargahar, we took him to the house in Sasaram town in good faith. The idea was to marry him to a girl again. Golu reportedly conveyed this message to Nandini and she reached the house of Golu and created a ruckus," said Chhotu Kumar, a cousin of Golu.
"As Nandini did not want to leave Golu, the latter's mother fell unconscious," Chotu said.
"The relation deficiency is a regular feature in Bihar these days and it is more than a social issue rather than legal. Some people are not bothered to respect relations within their own families," said Ramesh Kumar Singh, a prominent lawyer of Patna civil court.
"The victims in this case generally avoid taking legal action. They do not even think of getting a divorce before doing a second marriage. In some of the cases, the matter goes to Panchayats and they follow their decisions," Singh said, adding that police of respective districts avoid taking legal action until and unless someone files complaints.