House burnt, mother of two separated from children in WKH
SHILLONG: The decision of 26-year-old Testiphul Paliar from Dum shohksoin village, near Rambrai in West Khasi Hills to change her denomination landed her in jail after her relatives along with the Dorbar allegedly implicated her in a false case besides ostracizing her.
Paliar, who secured bail recently with the help of CSWO president Agnes Kharshiing, stated that changing her denomination from Presbyterian to Christian United landed her in trouble so much so that the mother of two was even deprived of the right to know the whereabouts of her children.
Even after Paliar was released from Shillong jail on November 14, she was denied entry into the village even as she learnt that her house was burnt down by the villagers.
Addressing pressmen here on Thursday, Paliar, who is currently based at Nongstoin, said that following her release the police advised her against returning home on security grounds.
“I have no knowledge of the whereabouts of my old mother and children till date and at present, I am living alone at Nongstoin as my entry into the village was barred,” Paliar said adding that even though she has relatives in the village, none came to her rescue.
It was in the year 2011 after Paliar along with her mother decided to change their denomination that all the hassles started. Unsatisfied with her decision, the village heads allegedly ostracized her on July 7, 2011 on grounds that she had violated the rules of the Dorbar.
Paliar, who also owns a piece of land at Mawthir village, near Dum Shohksoin was stripped off her land deeds by her own siblings and cousin who allegedly had an eye on the plot for a long time.
Later in September, 2013 she was implicated in a case when she went to fetch her children, a two-year-old and a six-year-old from Mawthir village after her mother took them for a wedding in the village. “When I went to the village to fetch my children, my cousin created a hassle and refused to let go one of my children. A Dorbar was called two days after the incident and it was that day, that I was implicated in a case which landed me in Shillong Jail,” Paliar said.
During the meeting, the Dorbar allegedly accused her of trespassing into the village the punishment for which according to the traditional body amounted to either a death penalty, not allowing her to enter the village again or handing her over to the police.
Sensing trouble, Paliar’s mother requested that she be handed over to the police. Subsequently, she was charged with section 506 CrPC which is criminal intimidation.
Interestingly, Paliar stayed in the prison for one and a half months and during this period she was never produced before the court nor taken for medical checkup which should have been done after 14 days judicial custody and 48 hours of arrest respectively.
“This is a clear violation of human rights and legal rights,” CSWO President Agnes Kharshiing said adding “to oust someone in the name of religion is something which is unacceptable in a secular country and a Christian state like ours.”
Meanwhile, Paliar accompanied by Kharshiing and an RTI Activist filed an FIR on Thursday against Paliar’s relatives for taking away her children and encroachment into her land.