Delhi HC asks cops to trace ‘missing’ Hindu woman who eloped with Muslim man

A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Rajnish Bhatnagar expressed shock that the local police did not registered a first information report (FIR) that the woman was missing on a complaint by her parents .

The Delhi high court has directed the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of Delhi Police’s crime branch to trace a Hindu woman, a B.Tech student, who apparently eloped with a Muslim man in November and got married in West Bengal.

Police said they received the post from an unknown address and are in the process of verifying the address and the authenticity of the document. Image used for representative purpose only. (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Rajnish Bhatnagar expressed shock that the local police did not registered a first information report (FIR) that the woman was missing on a complaint by her parents . A Nikahnama (marriage contract) of the couple sent by post to the police could not be verified by the station house officer of the Naraina Vihar police station, it was accepted as genuine by the police.

Police said they received the post from an unknown address and are in the process of verifying the address and the authenticity of the document.

The bench also said it cannot accept statements attributed to the girl as having been made voluntarily and would want them to be verified.

“To satisfy our conscience, we would like that she be produced before us,” the bench said, adding that in case the woman is traced, she shall be brought to Delhi and kept at Nari Niketan at least for four days before the next date of hearing so that she is not under influence of either the petitioner, or the persons with whom she is stated to have eloped and gone,” it said.

The court was hearing a habeas corpus plea by the father of the woman, contending that his daughter had been missing since November 7. In his plea, the father said that a Muslim man took her to Kolkata by train. He said the father of the man had also been missing since.

The SHO told the court that an FIR was not registered because a Nikahnama was produced to show that the woman married the man. A status report by the police said the woman also informed her family members that she did not wish to be disturbed and that she was happy and safe wherever she was.

“During our interaction with the SHO, Naraina — who is also present during this hearing -- he states that FIR was not registered since the Nikahnama has been produced... On our query, he states that the said Nikahnama could not be verified despite efforts..

“We are shocked that even in this background, he did not think it proper to register an FIR and proceeded on the bald statement produced before him...This is complete dereliction of duty on the part of the SHO concerned,” the court said in its order of December 18.

The bench, while transferring the investigation to the AHTU, also directed the SHO of the area to look into a potential threat to the woman’s family and asked that they be provided adequate security. “The mobile phone number of the beat constable of the area shall be provided to the petitioner and family members, and any call received from them shall be attended to and actioned without any delay,” the court said.

The matter will now be heard on January 4, 2021.