Man leaves wife on wedding night to 'hang' with cousin

Hindu customs deny cousin marriage, helpless in face of taboo, they committed suicide

MITHI:

A heartbreaking incident occurred in Tharparkar, where the bodies of two cousins — a 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl — were found hanging from the same tree in the village of Dewo Dhani.

The boy was reportedly forced into an arranged marriage by his elders, though he loved his cousin. Hindu customs bar cousin marriages, which apparently pushed the teenagers to take their lives.

Police identified the victims as Jai Ram Chetan Kolhi, aged 17, and his cousin Jhamo Vishnu Kolhi, aged 16.

Upon receiving information, police from Jhangro station reached the site, removed the bodies, and shifted them to Islamkot Taluka Hospital for postmortem.

Jai Ram was married just the previous night in a wedlock arranged by his parents and elders. The family has returned home with his bride.

Later that evening, Jai Ram, left his wife and slipped out of the house, and by morning, both he and his cousin were found dead. After autopsy, the bodies were handed over to the families.