DCW rescues woman held captive by kin for inter-religious marriage

NEW DELHI:  The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) rescued a 25-year-old Muslim woman whose parents had allegedly kept her captive at a relative’s place in Ghaziabad after they learnt of her marriage to a man outside their religion.  The woman had secretly married her Hindu partner at an Arya Samaj temple in April. Both are from Delhi. A team of police and DCW officials rescued the woman on Sunday, after her partner told the Commission that he feared for her safety.   

Incidentally, the 25-year-old man’s family is yet to know about the inter-religious marriage even as his partner’s family recently learnt about it and allegedly kept her captive since then. Fearing that his partner’s life was in danger and that her parents arranged a suitor to marry her off, the man urged the DCW to rescue the woman from her house.  

On reaching the girl’s house, DCW counsellors along with a police team found that the woman was sent away to a relative’s house in Ghaziabad.  When summoned to the local police station, the woman’s family members allegedly tried to beat up the man. A crowd gathered outside and created a ruckus on the inter-faith marriage. Eventually, the woman was brought from her relative’s house.

Though the woman refused to initiate any legal course against her family, she told the DCW that she wanted to live with her partner. The couple plan to register their marriage under the Special Marriage Act. Apart from providing shelter, the DCW asked the police to provide security for the couple.  

“I feel sorry for the parents who put the lives of children at risk. I appeal to all to not to take law in their hands and inform us at 181 if anything illegal is observed,” DCW chief Swati Maliwal said.