He loved but lost the battle, now fears for life

Ameen, Meman’s brother, who is alleged to have killed her with a butcher’s knife while she was reading her daily namaz, was arrested on August 18. He is presently under judicial custody at Gurgaon Central Jail.

‘‘During interrogations, Ameen often said that he was proud of what he did,’’ says Beri. ‘‘He would also recount the ‘humiliation’ Meman sister had caused them. He claimed that because of her marrying out of caste, none of the three brothers and two sisters got married,’’ Beri adds.

Meanwhile, his arrest has come as little consolation to Idrees. ‘‘I have been conveyed this in clear terms that my children and I will not be spared,’’ he says. It is this fear that has forced him to keep his children, four-year-old Nazrana and two-year-old Imran, in hiding. ‘‘I cannot keep them in Sohna any longer and there are very few people I can trust elsewhere,’’ he says. ‘‘Are you sure you are from the Press?’’ he asks this reporter as an afterthought.

Idrees and Meman, both from village Sudaka in Nuh Sub-Division, got married under the Muslim Law of Shariat at Nizam-ud-Din Aulia’s dargah in New Delhi. A few days later they solemnised their marriage at a local court in Gurgaon. However, under family pressure, Meman had to go back to her parents while Idrees was asked by the village panchayat to pay a fine of Rs 25,000 for committing the ‘‘crime’’.

‘‘A few months later, her brother Jalaluddin brought her to Taoru and stabbed her 12 times,’’ he alleges. Confirms Beri: ‘‘He was later arrested for attempt to murder and convicted for three years imprisonment.’’

Meman underwent treatment at Delhi’s Safdarjang Hospital, says Idrees. ‘‘It was then that we decided to approach the National Commission of Women.’’ As they went to their native village accompanied by an NCW team, they were allegedly assaulted by irate villagers.

In the resulting confusion, the couple reportedly got separated. ‘‘It was only after the court’s intervention that Meman was sent to the Nari Niketan in Karnal,’’ says Idrees. ‘‘Later, a Supreme Court directive led to our reunion in 1998,’’ he recounts.

The couple then moved to Laxmi Nagar in New Delhi. ‘‘It was here that her family started visiting us,’’ says Idrees, who then went to work in Saudi Arabia for a few months. ‘‘So much time had elapsed that we thought things had finally started returning to normal,’’ he says. Buoyed by the changed behaviour of his in-laws, Idrees decided to settle at Sohna around 11 months back.

‘‘We had only begun to lead a happy life when this happened…’’ his voice trails off. ‘‘What do I tell my children when they ask about their mother?’’ he asks. Five-year-old Nazrana still recounts the horror of that day: ‘‘Ek aadmi aya tha jissey mummy keh rahi thi ki maaf kar do. Phir usney mummy ko chaku se maara (A man came here. Mummy asked him to forgive her but he stabbed her with a knife).’’

Even as Idrees continues to lead the life of a nomad, he is too wary to even ask for police protection.