New Delhi: In a highly unusual sequence of events, relatives of a 20-year-old girl residing in Odisha’s Kendrapara district made a public announcement declaring their own daughter as dead and conducted the customary last rituals on Thursday.

They did so in protest of her marriage, which had taken place against their wishes. The young woman, Dipanjali Mallick, aged 20 and the daughter of Muna Mallick from Demal village in the Aul police station area, had married her boyfriend, Rajendra Mallick, aged 23, in a temple ceremony that occurred on August 28.

Outraged by their daughter’s defiance of their wishes, the parents resorted to this extreme measure, severing all ties with her and formally pronouncing her as “dead.”

Muna Mallick, the father of the young woman, shared his perspective on the situation, recounting how their daughter had run away with Rajendra. They lodged a formal complaint against him at the Aul police station, and after a police investigation, their daughter was located and returned to their custody.

“We envisioned arranging marriage for her but she defied”

However, Dipanjali made a conscious decision to go against her family’s wishes and marry Rajendra in a village temple. This act caused profound emotional pain within the family and brought shame upon them. To symbolize their disassociation from their daughter, they conducted funeral rituals, including ‘pind daan,’ and organized a ‘Dasaha Bhoji’ feast traditionally held after someone’s passing. These actions served as a public declaration that, in their eyes, their daughter was now estranged.

The father lamented that they had hoped to arrange their daughter’s marriage with a suitable partner, but she disregarded their wishes and married without their consent.