Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Jun 13: A Muslim youth has allegedly enticed a Hindu girl who recently attained the age of 18 to accompany him away from her family. The Hindu girl living within the limits of Malpe police station here went missing from the house of a relative on Thursday June 11. Her family believed that she had eloped with a Muslim youth.
The girl in question, residing near Brahmavar, used to commute to Udupi daily for her degree education. During this period, she came in contact with a bus driver, who is a resident of Santhekatte. The two fell in love with each other and decided to marry. But the fact that the girl was underage had put paid to their plan.
Azhar
As soon as the girl turned 18, the youth and the girl registered themselves for registered marriage in the registrar's office at Udupi, duly taking care to ensure that the family members did not get wind of their plan. The parents however, came to know about it after noticing the photograph of their daughter on the notice board at the registration office. The parents tried to wean away the girl from the boy by giving her some sound advice.
In the meantime, the youth had come forward to file a police complaint accusing the parents of the girl of keeping her under house arrest. The police had summoned the family of the girl then. The girl told the police then that she would like to accompany her parents. She also said in her statement that the bus driver had cheated her relating to an extent of Rs 40,000. After she also turned hostile against three witnesses to the marriage registration application, the case had ended then and there.
The girl, who was in the house of a relative, went missing all of a sudden on Thursday morning. A complaint has been filed at Malpe police station in this connection. Malpe police had launched a vigorous drive to find out the girl's whereabouts.
When the youth was contacted, he said he was in Hassan and he did not know anything about the girl's plan. Hindu Jagrana Vedike leader Mahesh Bailoor, had claimed that this is a well-planned incident and that the youth had got the girl to elope with him under threat. He said that the Hindu organizations want the police to intensify their investigation and save the girl from the clutches of the boy.
The police have since cracked the case. Malpe police have found the couple from Shivamogga. The accused, identified as Azhar, had lied to the police when they contacted him. He had reportedly told that he was unaware about the girl's whereabouts, which misled the police.