Click to play videoBhopal: It sounds like a classic Bollywood script. However, no amount of film watching could have prepared Umar and Priyanka for the furore their relationship has created.
Umar and Priyanka wanted to get married despite being from different religions. Umar is a Muslim and Priyanka is a Hindu. They fled to a Mumbai where they had a court marriage.
Priyanka's family filed a police complaint that their daughter had been kidnapped, and there were public protests by the RSS and Bajrang Dal.
Umar, meanwhile, converted to Hinduism and married Priyanka once again in a Vedic ceremony.
But their problems didn't stop there. Umar's brother Shakeel was picked up by the Bhopal police and kept in custody for five days.
The couple finally moved the Bombay High court that upheld their marriage and gave their love story had a happy ending. However, the couple still wants some answers.
Says Priyanka, ”I have informed the CM, governor, SP and IG that my husband hasn’t kidnapped me. I have got married according to my own wishes. Why haven’t they made my statement valid? Why did they detain my brother-in-law for five days? I demand an answer from the entire MP government.”
On the other hand, the Chief Minister, MP, Shivraj Chauhan says, “In a democracy everyone has the right to express their view. An inter-caste wedding is not important enough for a Chief Minister to comment upon.”
The saga came to light on Tuesday when a CNN-IBN citizen journalist sent pictures of Shakeel in police custody. This nailed the police version. The court has asked the Bhopal SP for an explanation.
“It's thanks to the efforts of many people, especially CNN-IBN, which brought this matter into light,” says Zeeba, Shakeel’s wife.
Meanwhile, a tired Umar says it's a victory for love, but is it really?
The couple has been given police security and cannot go back to Bhopal. Shakeel is in hiding after his release. And our citizen journalist is too scared to take credit for the good deed.
(With inputs from Shreya Dhondiyal)
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