Mumbai: Days after the Bombay High Court ordered police to provide protection to a 19-year-old who apprehends a Sairat-like tragic end to her relationship from her family, the girl on Thursday evening lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against her family members. The girl, Priyanka Shete is a second-year law student from Pune and belongs to the Maratha community. She has claimed her parents are opposed to her relationship with 19-year-old Viraj Awghade, since he belongs to the SC/ST.
Earlier, she had moved the Bombay High Court seeking protection from her family members, who, she claims, have threatened to kill her. She had also sought help from the Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW). Shete’s case was considered by a vacation bench of the HC earlier this week and the bench had even ordered the local police to provide her protection. Pursuant to the orders, the Talegaon police station, Pune registered an FIR against Shete’s father, uncle, cousin and other members of her family. The Shete family has been booked for criminal intimidation, wrongfully confining Priyanka and also trying to administer poison.
The police has also invoked provisions of the Arms Act against her uncle, who allegedly threatened to kill her with his illegal pistol. According to Shete, her family members have continuously harassed and assaulted her, both mentally and physically. “My parents are against inter-caste marriages, hence they do not like my relationship with a lower-caste boy. They have now threatened to kill us both, if I continue meeting Viraj, ’’ Shete has said in her plea. According to advocate Nitin Satpute, who represents Shete, due to the constant harassment, his client attempted to end her life by consuming an overdose of medicine; however, timely intervention saved her.
The girl claims she and Viraj are continuously being subjected to tremendous mental torture and as a result, she has left her parental house. She has expressed a desire to marry him but only after they attain the legal age of marriage — they are both 19. “I am an educated girl and competent enough to make my own decisions. I have decided to stay with Viraj and will marry him only after we both turn 21,” Shete has said in her plea.
