In a writ petition filed before the Bombay High Court in 2017, the woman sought police protection on the ground that she was living in the apprehension of being targeted by her relatives, as she was to depose against them.

The woman claimed, her phone was tracked and her uncle and 12 others came to her house in Madhya Pradesh. (Representational Image)

OVER A year after a 26-year-old man was killed by his wife’s family members as they disapproved of their relationship, the woman recently deposed before the sessions court as a witness against her relatives.

In a writ petition filed before the Bombay High Court in 2017, the woman sought police protection on the ground that she was living in the apprehension of being targeted by her relatives, as she was to depose against them.

The high court had then directed the senior inspector of the local police to provide protection to the woman and her sister and also directed that her address should not to be disclosed.

Thereafter, the woman had appeared before the sessions court with police protection and deposed during in-camera proceedings led by prosecutor Mangesh Arote. The woman, now 28, told the court that she had met her husband, who was her neighbour, and started a relationship with him in 2011.

She added that on February 23, 2016, she registered her marriage with him but did not disclose it to her family.

"My marriage was performed in my childhood and I was apprehensive that my family members would oppose my relationship. Even in our community, inter-caste marriage is not permissible," she told the sessions court.

She added that due to this, she left Mumbai and shifted with her husband to his native place in Madhya Pradesh. While her relatives were not aware of where she lived, they filed a missing complaint at the Govandi police station.

Thereafter, the woman claimed, her phone was tracked and her uncle and 12 others came to her house in Madhya Pradesh. One of them told her that she should return as her father’s health condition in Mumbai had deteriorated, she said, adding that she returned to Mumbai and saw that she has been lied to about her father’s health. She was then taken to Nandurbar, to the family of the boy whom she had allegedly married in her childhood.

She told the court that she was subsequently brought to Mumbai by her father but her movements were severely restricted and she was not given access to a phone.

Her sister got her the number of the police control room and with her help, the woman sent a text message to say that she needs help.

The woman said that the next day, the police came to her house and she was taken to the police station, where her husband was called and they were allowed to go with each other. The couple then shifted to Chhattisgarh but returned to Mumbai after a few months to find work.

The woman alleged that on March 23, 2017, when her husband went to the Regional Transport Office to get his driving license, he was abducted by the accused and stabbed multiple times. He succumbed to the injuries at KEM Hospital two days later. Following this, she filed a complaint against four of her relatives, including her cousin.

She identified the four accused — facing trial under charges including kidnapping and murder — present in court on the day of her deposition.

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