Woman taken to see ‘Kerala Story’ by BJP’s Pragya Thakur ‘elopes’ with man from another faith

Members of the man’s family have said they fear reprisals and that they would not welcome the woman into their household.

The woman’s family said she went missing on May 15, when she left home after locking her family members inside the house. They also claimed Rs 70,000 in cash, as well as gold and silver jewellery, is missing.

A missing report was filed on May 19, but the matter gained public attention Monday.

The SHO of Bhopal’s Kamla Nagar police station, Anil Bajpai, told The Indian Express that there was a previous instance in which the woman had been thought to have gone missing, but she had then told police that she had gotten married of her own free will and that she wanted to live with her husband. On the latest missing complaint filed by the woman’s mother, Bajpai said, “We are currently trying to track the missing woman and will record her version, following which future course of action will be taken.”

The man has “seven-eight criminal cases against him for getting into fights in his locality”, the officer said. Bajpai said he does not know whether the woman had watched The Kerala Story with Pragya Singh Thakur.

The 27-year-old man’s father had, in January, taken out a signed affidavit and advertised in newspapers that he had legally disowned his son.

“I was tired of my son’s antics. He would fight with the locals, and would come home inebriated and create a ruckus. I used to stand surety for my son, but one day I just gave up. He is no son of mine. Now, because of his antics, my whole family is under threat,” he said.

The man’s family got to know about the relationship eight months ago, when they spotted the two walking together in the locality. “We were scared because the woman belonged to a different community. So, we sent a message through some common friends (to the woman’s family). We told them to please look after their daughter. We don’t want her to marry our son,” the man’s mother said.

According to the complaint by the woman’s mother, she had previously gone missing on May 11. When the family had tried to lodge a complaint with the police, the woman “turned up in a burqa” and told her family that she had married the man, the complaint claims.

On May 15, she went missing again after locking her family members in the house, the complaint states.

Sitting in the Bhopal Police Commissioner’s office in the hope of meeting the officer, the woman’s 48-year-old father said, “We tried everything to keep our daughter away from a history-sheeter. But she refused to listen.”

Ever since being tipped-off by the man’s family, the woman’s family has been trying to get her to end the relationship and marry someone else.

On May 11, they took her for counselling at the Gauravi One-Stop Crisis Centre, which was set up by the Madhya Pradesh government to help women victims of violence.

“We took our daughter to local counsellors… At the counselling centre, my daughter removed her jewellery and handed it to us, saying that she didn’t want anything to do with us. She even threatened to commit suicide if she was not allowed to be with that man,” said the girl’s mother (45).

After the counselling session, the woman went missing for the first time, according to the family. However, she was soon found.

Later, the family decided to take her for a counselling session with BJP MP Thakur.

A source close to Thakur told The Indian Express, “The family had approached Sadhvi ji for counselling. She (the 19-year-old) was refusing to marry according to her parents’ wishes. Sadhvi ji spent a whole day, leaving all her work, and spoke to the woman. The woman then promised to leave that man. The very next day, Sadhvi ji took the woman, along with several other women from the area, to watch The Kerala Story at a movie theatre… When Sadhvi ji got to know about the news (of the woman’s disappearance) she became very upset. We won’t do anything in this incident, as it is now under the domain of the police.”

The man’s family said they remain anxious about the potential consequences of the relationship. “Her family has been threatening us. We will not accept the woman into our household,” his sister claimed.