MADIKERI: A Muslim family at Betoli village in Virajpet taluk has been facing social boycott from members of the community for the last 30 years, all because the woman of the house used to attend prayers at a mosque in Virajpet.
Adding insult to injury, the family members were not even allowed at the Muslim burial ground when the head of the family died on Thursday night. The final rites of the deceased man were conducted by the community members itself while the family was kept out.
The family has been barred entry into the mosque in the village and other community members are forbidden from visiting them or entertaining them at their place. Violation of the diktat will attract a penalty of Rs 5,000. The family members say they are not even allowed to hire autorickshaws from the village.
About 30 years ago, Rafiq married a woman from Kerala and brought her to the village. Ever since the woman prayed at a mosque in Virajpet, the family has been facing boycott. When Rafiq died after a heart attack, the community members took away the body to the first wife’s house. The family was warned that if they even saw the body, the villagers or other family members would not participate in the last rites, they claimed.
Rashid, the son of Rafiq, said, “My father was boycotted when I was about 13 years old because my mother would visit a mosque. When I was 33, I wrote to the mosque seeking membership and they collected Rs 75,000-80,000 from us for the 32-year period. For two years, we had membership of the mosque, but later, without any information, they cancelled our membership”.
“We approached the district wakf committee, the police and even applied through a lawyer. When I was bringing back my father’s body from the hospital, they stopped the ambulance and took away the body along with the stretcher. They didn’t even give me a chance to speak. The family of my father’s first wife has been constantly harassing us. We were humiliated before the whole village by not allowing us to take part in the last rites”, Rashid said.