Thrown Out After Giving Birth to a Daughter, Woman Denied Justice in Odisha
Thrown Out After Giving Birth to a Daughter, Woman Denied Justice in Odisha
Balasore, 4th February, 2026: Despite legal safeguards and awareness campaigns, discrimination against women—especially after the birth of a girl child—continues to plague Indian society. In many cases, women are deprived of dignity, shelter, and protection, often at the hands of their own families. The situation worsens when law enforcement agencies fail to act promptly at the grassroots level, raising serious questions about law and order.
One such disturbing incident has surfaced from Odisha, where a woman was allegedly assaulted and thrown out of her marital home after giving birth to a daughter, while police allegedly failed to provide timely justice.
Incident Details
According to sources, Bharati, daughter of Ajay Kumar Patra of Gengutia village under Baliapal police station in Debhag panchayat, was married to Pritish Jayant, son of Jagannath Kar of Chakasartha village, in the year 2022.
The marriage reportedly progressed smoothly until Bharati gave birth to a girl child on May 7, 2013, at Balasore Hospital. From that moment onward, her husband and in-laws allegedly turned against her. Shockingly, Bharati and her newborn daughter were allegedly abandoned at the hospital without payment for medicines or medical expenses.
Sources from local media state that Bharati’s elder father, Binay Patra, rushed to the hospital, cleared all expenses, and brought her back home.
Harassment and Police Inaction
Later, following mediation in the presence of villagers, Bharati was sent back to her in-laws’ house with her husband’s consent. However, after staying there for only a few days, she was allegedly subjected to mental and physical harassment by her husband and in-laws.
Unable to endure the abuse, Bharati filed a written complaint at the Singla police station. Subsequently, with the consent of the officer at Sartha Out Post, she went to her in-laws’ house to retrieve household items and furniture given as dowry at the time of marriage. During this visit, she was allegedly beaten and forcibly driven out of the house.
Despite repeated visits to the Singla police station, Bharati reportedly did not receive justice. Eventually, she and her elder father approached the District Superintendent of Police, Balasore, seeking intervention and protection.
A Repeated Pattern
This is not an isolated incident. A similar case occurred a few years ago at the Chandbali Community Health Centre under Chandbali police station, where a woman was allegedly threatened by her husband with dire consequences if she returned home with her newborn daughter. The husband allegedly threatened to kill their elder daughter and make the act public if his wife returned with their second daughter.
A Social and Legal Failure
Such incidents highlight the persistent failure to enforce laws against domestic violence, dowry harassment, and gender-based discrimination. Despite medical science clearly establishing that the father determines the biological sex of a child, this awareness has not effectively reached large sections of rural and urban society.
It remains a matter of shame that the birth of a girl child still invites hostility, violence, and abandonment. In many cases, one can predict the gender of a newborn merely by observing the reactions of family members. Even families with one or two sons often continue to pressure women to give birth to another son.
This persists despite government initiatives and nationwide campaigns such as “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao”, aimed at saving and educating the girl child.
The lack of exemplary punishment against perpetrators emboldens such crimes, underscoring the urgent need for stronger enforcement of existing laws, greater social awareness, and accountability within law enforcement agencies.
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