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Journalism of Courage
The Delhi Police will play “family” and take under its “protective wing” the19-year-old runaway daughter of Telegu megastar Chiranjeevi and her husband.
The couple, who got married at an Arya Samaj temple in Secunderabad on October 17, had reached Delhi after three days of dodging family members and furious fans of the “powerful” superstar.
Days of “living underground” under constant apprehension of harm has taken the toll on Konidela Srija, Chiranjeevi’s daughter and second-year graduate student at Hyderbad, and her bespectacled 22-year-old husband, Gadi Sirish Bhardwaj, an software engineering graduate.
In an urgent application filed before the Delhi High Court on Monday seeking police protection, Srija said she was afraid that her father’s influence would lead to a situation identical to what had allegedly happened to a Kolkata youth, Rizwanur Rehman.
“We have no hope of justice in Andhra Pradesh because of the influence of megastar Mr K Chiranjeevi. We are apprehending a repeat of Rizwanur Rehman’s case, where he got married to a girl from a high-profile family and was kidnapped and killed,” a petition filed by the couple through advocate Pinky Anand stated.
The application stated that Srija and Bhardwaj were “legally wed husband and wife”, even as Anand submitted in court the birth certificates of both, issued by the Municipal Corporation of Hyderbad to prove they were majors.
Justice S N Dhingra, however, told the couple to step forward and introduce themselves in open court.
Turning to Srija at first, Justice Dhingra asked her how she intended to complete her graduation course, being “so far away from home”.
“I will opt for distance education course. I intend to stay in Delhi for the time being,” she replied to the judge.
On learning that Bhardwaj, though a software engineer was still unemployed, the judge asked him how he would maintain his wife.
Echoing his wife’s desire to stay in the Capital for the “time being”, Bhardwaj, whose father is a lawyer at Hyderabad, said he had his own family business back in his native town.
Meanwhile, the police submitted that the couple had been so far living incognito in the city and the former could not be expected to provide protection without knowing their present residential address.
Directing the police to give security to the couple provided that an address is confidentially handed over to the DCP, New Delhi, the court assured them both that “you shall not face any vengeance from Chiranjeevi”.
At this context, the superstar’s counsel, Maninder Singh, informed the court that Chiranjeevi had already wished them well in a press conference held on October 20. Besides he agreed to seek instructions on a suggestion by the court that a representative of the megastar’s family should appear and confirm that the couple had nothing to fear from the girl’s parents.
The case is listed for further hearing on October 29.
