Victim must live with rapist

2005-06-15 19:53

New Delhi - A young Indian woman, allegedly raped by her father-in-law, has been ordered by village elders to live with him as his wife, said a report on Wednesday.

The Asian Age daily newspaper reported that Muslim clerics who served as village elders in Uttar Pradesh, India, decided that the woman's rape by her father-in-law had "nullified" her marriage to her husband.

The 28-year-old woman, the mother of five children, married rickshaw-puller Noor Mohammed about 10 years ago in Charthawal village.

The report said her father-in-law, Ali Mohammed, allegedly raped her while her husband was away at work nearly two weeks ago, but the husband ignored his wife's complaints.

It said the wife had decided to walk out on her husband, but family members pressured her to stay and the matter landed before the council of village elders.

Rape case filed against father-in-law

The newspaper said clerics ordered her to stay with her parental family for seven months and 10 days to become "pure" again before taking up her new life as her father-in-law's wife.

It quoted one Muslim cleric as saying that on her return to her home, she would "then be like a mother" to her husband.

Police said they had filed a case of rape against the father-in-law and planned to arrest him soon.

Police chief Surendra Yadav told the newspaper that "we have registered a case" after getting statements from the victim and her mother.

The state of Uttar Pradesh is one of India's poorest and most underdeveloped regions.

- AFP