Korput: In a cool reminder, how deep traditions can still determine the fate of individuals in a remote tribal belt, a young couple of Kanjamajodi village under the Shikarpai Panchayat were sentenced by a Kangaroo Court in Regada district with tribal-prostitutes under the limit of Kalyan Singhpur police.The shocking incident, which went viral on social media on Friday, shows the couple subject to public insults in the presence of village elders and community members. In the video, the young man and the woman are shouted like bulls with a wooden plow across their shoulders, forced to fall into love with their alleged ‘crime’ up to an area.The punishment did not stop there. After performing rituals in front of the village deity, the elders allegedly implicated the couple. Soon after, both were thrown out of the village. Their current hideouts are unknown.The couple – known as Luck Sarka and Kodia Sarka – were in a relationship despite being related as the maternal aunt (locally referred to as Pais Nani) and nephews. According to tribal customs in many parts of Odisha, marriage within the same clan is strictly banned as such relationships are considered equal to siblings or close blood relatives.“According to our tribal tradition, people of the same clan are considered to be brothers and sisters or aunt and nephews. Marriage between them is a serious violation,” said a rural Shyamadhar Minika.Sources said that once the relationship came, the elders of the village held a meeting of a customer council and sentenced. The so-called ‘justice’ was performed in the full scene of the village-a tradition that workers and legal experts have repeatedly condemned as unconstitutional.Is it more worrying that no action has been taken yet. However, Raigada SP Swathi S Kumar said that the matter will be noted. “A team will be sent to interrogate the incident, and necessary action will be taken,” the SP said.
