Family members caned and fined for playing music at wedding

A precedent of medieval barbarity has been set in an informal village arbitration in Hatia of Noakhali. The bride, her parents and other family members were caned for playing music at the wedding ceremony. Even after apologizing, the family was not spared, but instead a hefty fine was imposed. The new groom's only source of income, the auto-rickshaw, was also seized for not being able to pay the fine.

The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon in Ward No. 9 of Burirchar Union in Hatia Upazila. On the decision of some influential people present at the arbitration, each family member was caned 15 times and a fine of Tk 30,000 was imposed.

The family members said that they played music on mike to express their joy at the wedding ceremony of their daughter. But some local people created a ruckus and physically abused them during the arbitration.

Locals say that such arbitration is completely illegal. According to the law of Bangladesh, only the court can try and punish criminal offenses. Such barbarity due to playing a microphone at a wedding is not only a violation of personal freedom, it is also a criminal offense.

Police Inspector SI Farhad Hossain of Sagaria Outpost said that after receiving the information, he went to the spot and asked both parties to take legal action. If anyone files a written complaint, legal action will be taken.