Monogamy: Tribal man weds 2 women on the same day, same time

Jaipur, June 24: A young man of tribal caste has married two brides at the same time in Chatarpura village of Udaipur district, police said today.

Bhagwati Lal (23) yesterday married the two brides with the consents of their parents, a senior police officer of Jhadol police station told PTI on telephone.

The groom works in a factory near Udaipur. Both the brides he married are coincidentally called Rekha, the cop said.

Bhagwati was in a live-in relation with one of the women, while he recently fell in love with the other one from Nadi village, the officer said, quoting villagers.

"We are enquiring whether the girls are minor or major... As per tribal traditions, man used to follow 'nata pratha' (keeping relations with more than one woman) and may marry more than one... A constable has been sent to the village to verify their documents," the officer said on condition of anonymity.

When contacted, Superintendent of Police Harish Prasad Sharma said, "Such a marriage might have occurred there as tribals have tradition marrying more than one woman... We have to ensure that there is no crime".

Udaipur Collector Vikas Sitaram Bhale said, "The Hindu Marriage Act might not be applied in the case of tribal community... I cannot comment right away... Wait for day or two to ascertain the case".

PTI