LUCKNOW: The row over the inter-caste wedding of BJP Bareilly MLA's daughter Sakshi with a Dalit Ajitesh Kumar took a twist on Friday after the head priest of the temple where the duo had allegedly tied the knot dismissed the marriage certificate as fake in Prayagraj.
Ram Janki temple priest Mahant Parshuram Singh also denied having solemnised the marriage of Sakshi and Ajitesh on July 4.
In fact, the marriage certificate posted by the couple on social media shows the marriage was solemnised at the famous Ram Janki temple in Beghum Sarai area of Prayagraj on July 4. But the head priest denied any knowledge of the controversial marriage having taken place.
The Mahant instead called it a bid to defame the temple and threatened to file a case against the couple.
The couple, however, alleged that the priest was under immense pressure from the girl's father Rajesh Mishra alias Pappu Bhartaul, who is a BJP MLA from Bithari Chainpur assembly constituency in Bareilly.
The couple, already in hiding, had moved the Allahabad High Court on Thursday producing the marriage certificate to seek police protection after alleging a threat to their life from the girl's father. The court has posted the matter for hearing on July 15.
The MLA came under pressure when his daughter Sakshi, 23, released two videos on social media in which she is seen voicing the threat to her life and and that of her husband Ajitesh Kumar, 29, from her father. Ajitesh comes from a Dalit family and he attributed the MLA's vindictiveness to this fact.
Reacting to the videos, the MLA had claimed on Thursday that he had no objection to the marriage but had other concerns. In a statement issued here, he said his daughter was an adult and "has the right" to take her own decision. But her age gap with the boy and his lack of earnings were his main cause of concern.
Ajitesh's father Harish Kumar denied having any knowledge about the couple's whereavouts. He added that he and his family had also left Bareilly, fearing a threat to their lives.
He said that his son Ajitesh had sent him the video clip on the basis of which he had informed the police that the couple faced a threat to their lives.
Meanwhile, Bareilly SSP G Muniraj said that he did not know where the couple were and that he will be able to provide security to them only if he knew about their whereabouts.
The BJP, for their part, have chosen to remain tightlipped about the raging controversy.