HER RIGID parents have become her sworn enemy. They have forced her to divorce her husband. And, finally they kept her children in their custody. Her fault: Being a Hindu she tied nuptial knot with a Christan.
Today, she’s moving from pillar to post for justice. The hapless woman Deepa and her husband Victor have taken refuge in State Minorities' Commission here. But her poor kids are still in the captivity of her parents in Thane in Mumbai.
She had fallen in love with Victor who went there for some professional training on December 22, 1995. She tied nuptial knot with Victor against the sweet will of their parents at St Joseph Church at Kanpur. To make their parents happy, they followed the rituals of both Arya Samaj and Christanity. But, their efforts came to naught.
For the newly-wed couple, life was like a bed of roses with two kids. But, suddenly, the cord of happiness broke in the mid-way. Deepa’s life turned into a dungeon horrible when her parents, through an order of Mumbai court, got her separated from Victor Julius. She was not allowed to set out of her parents’ house for three years.
Relating her tales of agony, with tears in her eyes and lump in her voice, she said, “In October 2004, I ran away from my parents’ house, but my father got me back on the plea that my mother was terminally ill and wanted to meet me.
Trapped, as I was, I had to stay there for one more year. Had the story ended there, I would have been happy, but it did not. I was forced into signing divorce papers. Not knowing what to do, I managed to run away from that hell on October 27, 2005,” she added.
Relating her tales of agony, with tears in her eyes and lump in her voice, she said, “In October 2004, I ran away from my parents’ house, but my father got me back on the plea that my mother was terminally ill and wanted to meet me.
Trapped, as I was, I had to stay there for one more year. Had the story ended there, I would have been happy, but it did not. I was forced into signing divorce papers. Not knowing what to do, I managed to run away from that hell on October 27, 2005,” she added.
Though escaped, her misery did not end. Her parents kept her two children — Vincy (eight) and Sherry (five). At present, she is with her husband in Kanpur.
A sobbing Deepa said, “My father, Dharmendra Sandhu, filed a petition in the court stating that since I have separated myself from my husband, he should be allowed to bring up the kids. As the divorce took place under compulsion and since we have reunited legally, we want our kids back.”
The officials of the Minorities’ Commission are planning to back the couple. Neelam Romila Singh, a member of the Commission, who is dealing with the case said, “At first, we have to convince the court that Dharmendra’s arguments are baseless as the couple have reunited.”
She said, “If need be we’ll contact the Mumbai wing of the Minorities Commission. Besides, a criminal case can be filed against Dharmendra at the Jagmau police station at Kanpur where the couple are staying now.”
Amidst all these miseries, the only good news is: Deepa has been blessed with a third child, Lucky, in the first week of this month. But the question is: Will she be lucky enough to smile again with her three children?