Delhi HC grants police protection to girl 'under threat' from parents

New Delhi: A Delhi court today directed the police to give protection to an 18-year-old girl, who intends to marry a boy she loves against her family’s wishes, on the ground that her life is “under threat” from her parents. Metropolitan Magistrate Ajay Garg asked DCP south Delhi and SSP Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh to protect the girl from any untoward incident after her lawyer moved the court seeking protection on the apprehension that she may be killed. Yesterday, her counsel Devjyoti Dey had moved court here for protection saying the UP local police were not paying heed to their request and the alleged victim was illegally detained at her father’s house there since 23 August. The court has directed UP police to file a status report on the issue by 30 August, while directing the investigating officer (IO) to appear in person before it. [caption id=“attachment_1064617” align=“alignleft” width=“300”] Representational Image. AFP[/caption] Though the girl is from UP, her plea for police protection was filed in a Delhi court as she resides in south Delhi. The girl in her petition had said she was sent to UP by her parents for her marriage with an old man who is rich. She refused to accept her parents’ choice and expressed her desire to marry a Delhi-based boy she loves. “The girl was tortured and beaten up badly,” the petition stated. It also said that on 19 August she escaped from her village in UP and reached Delhi. On reaching Delhi she went to lodged a complaint against her family members with the Sangam Vihar police station here, but the cops detained her and later intimated her father. The lawyer said that instead of producing the girl before the court, the police handed over the victim to her father, who took her back to UP and locked her in their house. “The girl is aware about the planning, preparation and intention of her parents regarding her honour killing,” the petition said. “In UP, the incident was reported to the Chief Minister, by Love Commandos, a voluntary organisation which helps India’s lovebirds who want to marry for love,” the counsel said in his submissions before the court and alleged that even the state government failed to take any action. PTI