Karnal, April 21
The sale of two of his minor daughters by Bhupal Singh, a farm labourer of Hari Singhpura village in Gharaunda police station, depicts a tale of helplessness of a man wanting to be free from the clutches of debt.
Inquiries made by ‘The Tribune’ reveal that the farm labourer owed Rs 50,000 to his elder brother Dharam Singh. As he was unable to clear the debt, a farmer of Gharaunda is reported to have suggested him to sell his two daughters under 10 years of age to two youths of Sagga village.
When Bhupal Singh was striking the deal for the sale of the girls, his distraught wife Krishna acquiesced because she was aware of their poverty.
The two youths of Sagga belonging to a “Gadaria” family were aged 27 and 25. They reached Hari Singhpura along with six persons from their village to marry the two minor girls after the full payment had been made.
But the marriage attempt was foiled by some classmates of the girls who reached the marriage site along with their school headmaster.
The farm labourer has admitted that he had paid back Rs 30,000 to his elder brother to clear a part of his debt. He said he had given Rs 10,000 to his mother and the remaining Rs 10,000 was spent on the marriage arrangements.
Interestingly, the Gharaunda police remained a silent spectator even after being informed by the villagers. But on other hand, the farm labourer was so upset with his act that he himself went to the police station along with some members of the marriage party to narrate his woeful tale of poverty and helplessness.
The deal has raised numerous social questions about the abject poverty of the farm labourers and their inability to pay pack their loans.
Bhupal Singh had to take the loan to make both ends meet as he had been out of job for quite some time.
