Thane: Love Marriage Leads To Brawl Between Families

A 45-year-old woman, Kalpana Lade, was brutally attacked with steel and a plastic pipe by the family of her son's wife. The assault was allegedly in opposition to the love marriage between Kalpana's 26-year-old son, Amit Lade, and his wife Savitri Chavan, as the families disagreed due to caste differences. The victim, who is also a widow, claimed that the assailants forcibly entered her home, subjecting her to abuse and violence. The incident unfolded in the Banjara Vasti area near Thane's Mental Hospital, where both families resided. Kalpana Lade, currently grappling with severe injuries, accused a local Shivsena supporter, Adinath Chavan, of instigating the violence and threatening her to exclude his name from the FIR.

The incident happened on February 26 when Kalpana Lade was busy in her household chores. “I was about to die. The gents from her family and came near me to beat me. It was very dangerous. What is my mistake in this? They were snatching my hands and want to take me to some unknown car. Adinath Chavan used the words like ‘aur maro isko’. Later, a neighbour named Shobha Kurhade came and rescued me otherwise the situation would have been worst,” told Lade to LokmatTimes.com. She lost her husband 16 years ago and currently works as a nanny at Ashirvad Hospital in Kopri. She has total four children, of which two sons are married. Her son Amit and Savitri were in relationship since last 4 years. Amit secretly married Savitri who belongs to Banjara community on February 21 and the couple is now absconding.

According to the FIR, Kalpana Lade told that Savitri’s family never liked her son Amit and they always opposed their marriage. She informed LokmatTimes.com that since Savitri’s parents were strict, the girl was also fed up of the daily disputes happening in the family. Kalpana Lade told,  “On February 20, Amit left the house as usual on the pretext of going to work at night. However, he did not return home. So I informed Wagle Estate Police Station. On February 23, I got a call from Amit saying that he had married the girl from the same area in a court on February 21.”

When LokmatTimes.Com visited the girls family in Banjara vasti, her younger brother Prem Chavan was only there and the whole family is now in their village in Karnataka. Prem told, “My sister has no aadhar card, pan card and how can she marry in the court? The whole mistake is of boy and her mother. Lade knew all the details of the couple and was in constant contact with her son. She did not shared location of my sister. It is true that my mother slapped her but none of the male family members touched her. She is speaking a lie.” Prem also stated that Kalpana Lade first promised that she will give all the details of the couple and wanted a settlement but later took a u-turn which angered the girl’s family. 

Two years ago, Amit Lade used to work with Savitri’s father Tarasingh Chavan who was a contractor. But later, he worked independently and used to do all the road repair works in Thane. Based on the complaint of Kalpana Lade, the Wagle Estate Police have registered a case against the girl's mother, father and two others including Adinath Chavan under sections 323, 324, 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code. The police are investigating the matter. 

Interestingly, all the major players involved are in Karnataka at present. Kalpana Lade went to the southern state yesterday as her another daughter-in-law is facing from some illness due to a recent delivery. She was told that Amit and Savitri are also in Karnataka but police are saying that the couple is absconding. The girl’s parents are also at their native village in Karnataka. Meanwhile, the Shivsena supporter Adinath Chavan is constantly threatening Kalpana to withdraw his name from the FIR. “Instead of calming down the situation, Adinath Chavan and his family came her house and influenced the girl’s parents. He was responsible for instigating the violence. He instructed to beat Kalpana more,” told the neighbours in the  Banjara vasti.