BHOPAL: Love between a young Muslim woman jail official and a murder convict Hindu male, which started and blossomed within the premises of the Satna Central Jail over the years, culminated in their interfaith marriage in the Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh recently.
Dharmendra Singh from Chandla area of Bundelkhand region’s Chhatarpur was sentenced to life in prison in 2007, after being convicted by the court for the murder and burial of the body of Chandla Municipal Council’s then vice-chairperson Krishna Dutt Dixit.
After his conviction, Singh was kept in the Satna Central Jail.
Meanwhile, Firoza Khatoon joined the same jail as an assistant jail superintendent and was handed over the responsibility of warrant in-charge.
Firoza met Singh at the jail subsequently, as he assisted the Satna Central Jail staff in warrant-related work. “The professional interactions between the young woman jail official and the convict gradually developed into friendship and later blossomed into love,” a jail official said.
After spending around 14 years in jail, the convict was released on the basis of good conduct four years ago. Subsequently, he and the jail official decided to tie the knot. The wedding was solemnised via Hindu marital rituals on May 5 in Luvkush Nagar town of Chhatarpur district, but Firoza’s family didn’t support the wedlock and stayed away from the nuptial ceremony.
With Firoza’s parents and family members staying away from her interfaith marriage, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) district vice-president Raj Bahadur Mishra and his wife performed the ritual of ‘kanyadan’ at the wedding, which was also attended by Bajrang Dal members.
Officials and inmates congratulated the newlyweds.
