By IANS,
New Delhi : After being threatened by relatives for their inter-faith marriage, a runaway Jammu and Kashmir couple under police protection is in trouble again. The woman’s father now claims she was married to someone else earlier.
Anjum, 19, a Muslim, and Khemraj, 24, a Hindu, had eloped to Delhi. The Jammu and Kashmir police came chasing them last month after Anjum’s father Mohammed Hussain complained that she had been kidnapped. The couple sought protection from the Delhi High Court, which ordered the police here to ensure their safety and their presence in Delhi.
Now Hussain has alleged in the court that Anjum had married Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Inspector Zahid Ali in December last year.
Hussain claimed that Anjum signed the Nikahnama in English herself. He submitted the document – which is a marriage contract under Islamic law – to the court through his lawyer R.K. Poswal.
Refuting Hussain’s allegation, Anjum’s lawyer Colin Gonsalves said that her signature was forged. He sought time to file a detailed reply.
The hearing will resume April 21.
The case came to public attention after the Jammu and Kashmir police team arrived on the basis of the kidnapping complaint filled by Hussain March 21. Anjum’s parents, together with the policemen, barged into a south Delhi hostel where she and her husband were staying and allegedly manhandled her. They had traced her through her mobile phone calls.
Khemraj is from Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir while Anjum is from Nagrota. She is a second-year undergraduate. Her father works for the state government. According to Jammu and Kashmir police, they are related to a legislator in Jammu.
Khemraj, son of a retired army captain, is studying for a master’s degree in commerce.