We will sit here on peaceful protest till they leave the village. A mega khap meeting has been called Aug 9 to decide our future course of action,' said a senior member of the Kadyan khap panchayat.

The Gehlout family was asked to leave Dharana village after Ravinder Singh Gehlout, 24, married a 20-year-old girl from the Kadiyan clan.

One of the khap councils, notorious for their vicious campaign against couples getting married within the same clan, accused him of violating a custom of no-marriage between the sects of Gehlout and Kadiyan as they have a 'brotherhood' akin to consanguinity.

Due to mounting pressure from the khap, Ravinder tried to commit suicide. His family left for a relative's house in another village but returned amid security cover.