Maharashtra government has set up a panel called ‘Inter-caste/Inter-faith marriage-family coordination committee’ which will gather information about the inter-caste or inter-faith marriage couples and the maternal families of the women involved if they are estranged.
According to a government resolution issued on Tuesday, the panel will be headed by the state’s Women and Child Development Department Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha.
This comes after the Shraddha Walkar’s murder case, where she was murdered allegedly by her boyfriend Aftab Poonawala in May this year.
Last month, Lodha had asked the State Women’s Commission to set up a special squad to identify women who married without family consent and are estranged from them.
The 13-member committee will monitor the district-level initiatives for women involved in such marriages who get estranged from their families, in order to help them.
According to the resolution, it will also be a platform for women and their families to avail counselling and resolve issues.
The panel will reportedly study policies of the state and central government in regards to welfare schemes and laws related to such marriages.
(Inputs from agencies)
