Mumbai Cops become marriage counsellors
Posted by akpwld on May 7, 2008
However at six police stations in the north zone of Mumbai, the cops play an unlikely role of a marriage counsellor, reconciling couples, who have eloped due to their distraught and angry parents.
”These families have differences. We bring them together, counsel them and get them married,” says Shivaji Bokade, DCP, Mumbai.
Kamini, a 21-year-old post-graduate literature student who married her sweetheart of four years, is now living with her husband Rupesh and her in-laws.
The bone of contention in this case was that Kamini’s parents felt that Rupesh, a sales executive with a supermarket, was not good enough for their daughter.
Then, there was 19-year-old Shalini, a runaway bride-to-be, who slipped off the train on her way to her wedding in Benaras. Today, Shalini and Shiva’s families have agreed to get the couple married when her boyfriend Shiva turns 21.
With the Rizwanur case still fresh in public memory, the Mumbai Police feel that reconciliation is better than recrimination and they are more than happy to play the role of marriage counsellor. They say that ever since frightened couples began turning up at the six police stations in this zone six months ago, they have resolved differences in 150 cases.
D P Khamkar, an assistant police inspector at the Kurar Police Station, who is a de facto marriage counsellor, has helped 10 families stay together despite serious differences.
”There were 40 cases at this police station between January and April. Of these, I have successfully handled 10 cases,” says Khamkar.
Love is blind, especially to caste differences, something the police officers say is the bane of most families they counsel. But helping Cupid overcome something so deep-rooted is very rewarding.
