'Father said he would kill me'

22-year-old woman who eloped and came to city from Jaipur says her father had threatened to burn her alive if she married her lover

Newly wedu00a0Aashika Patni-Jain (22), whose husband Prince Parashar's sister Neha was detained for four hours on Tuesday night at a city police station and reportedly harassed, alleged yesterday that her father had threatened to burn her alive if she married Prince, who belongs to a different caste.

An MBA working as a bank manager, Aashika said that besides the honour killing threat, she was beaten every day at home in Jaipur before she eloped with Prince a few days ago.

Aashika, who fled with Prince to the city a few days ago, also said that her influential father, the medical jurist of Jaipur, had sponsored the flight tickets to the city for a Rajasthan police team formed to look for her after she eloped.

MiD DAY had reported yesterday that in an effort to get their hands on the couple, Prince's sister was on Tuesday evening taken to the Yerawada police station. There she was allegedly abused and threatened by not only the police but also Aashika's father.

After MiD DAY took the initiative to provide legal help to the eloped couple, the two appeared at the Shivajinagar court seeking anticipatory bail. Their lawyer said Prince was granted transit bail.

Prince, also an MBA, and Aashika met in Jaipur at a New Year's Eve celebration three years ago, and love blossomed. The couple began chatting regularly, and there were also long phone calls, which were noticed by Aashika's family.

"I was threatened and beaten up almost everyday by my father and younger sister after they came to know about my affair with Prince," Aashika said. "As my family opposed any relationship with a man who was from another community, we ran away and got married on August 12. Fearing police action, we also filed a writ petition in the Rajasthan High Court, saying we had willingly married."

Advocate Rajeev Surana from the Rajasthan High Court said, "The Jaipur police have lodged a false complaint against Prince. The writ petition filed by Aashika and Prince was on the basis of the Supreme Court ruling on honour killings saying that in case of inter-caste marriages, the couple need to be provided protection."

Aashika's father filed a missing and kidnapping complaint at a local police station and the newlyweds fled to the city to avoid Prince's arrest.

Yesterday Prince approached Advocate Milind Pawar, who submitted an application for anticipatory bail at the Shivajinagar court.

"Prince has been granted transit bail for a month by the court. We have also informed the Pune police about it," Advocate Pawar said.

"My father sponsored the air tickets for the Rajasthan police team. He is also paying for their stay in a luxury hotel in Pune," Aashika said.

Prince said, "We had to take shelter in temples. Through it all, I feared for my parents' and sister's life. The Rajasthan police are hell-bent on arresting me and are virtually camping at the Yerawada police station along with members of Aashika's family."