The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has concluded that the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela viral star, who recently got married in Kerala with the support of CPI(M) leadership, is a minor and was “forcibly and unlawfully abducted”. The commission has recommended adding stringent sections under the POCSO Act to the already registered case under BNS Section 137 (2) (kidnapping), which was filed based on a complaint by the girl’s father.
The girl, who hails from the Pardhi tribal community and became an overnight internet sensation during the Kumbh Mela, married Farman Khan at the Nainar Temple in Thiruvananthapuram on March 11.
Several political leaders, including Kerala Education Minister V. Sivankutty, CPI(M) state secretary M.V. Govindan, and Rajya Sabha MP A.A. Rahim, attended the inter-religious marriage and issued statements saying it reflected Kerala’s social harmony. The couple had earlier approached the Thampanoor police station in the state capital, claiming that the girl’s family was not accepting the relationship and was trying to take her back home against her will. They had also claimed that both were adults.
Notably, Vishwa Hindu Parishad activist Adv. Anil Vilayil filed a complaint with the Kerala DGP on the same day, alleging that the girl is a minor.
Adv. Pritham Dubey, a Uttar Pradesh-based social activist, brought the matter before the NCST. Dubey alleged that a “hidden agenda” was behind the marriage and claimed that not only CPI(M), but also the now-banned Islamist organisation PFI, was involved in supporting the allegedly unlawful marriage to push their respective narratives.
According to Vilayil, birth records obtained from Government Medical Hospital, Maheshwar confirmed that the girl was just 16 years, 2 months, and 12 days old at the time of her marriage, making them a crucial piece of evidence. Dubey, meanwhile, claimed that the marriage was registered using a forged birth certificate issued in the name of Maheshwar Municipality, which listed the girl’s date of birth as January 1, 2008.
The NCST has recommended that, based on the investigation conducted so far in the existing man-missing case, Sections 87, 83, 96, 64, 81, and 56 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) be added. These sections deal with offences including rape, procuration of a child, kidnapping, punishment for a marriage ceremony conducted fraudulently without lawful marriage, and cohabitation induced by deceit under the belief of lawful marriage. The commission has also recommended registering Sections 17 and 18 of the POCSO Act, which deal with punishment for abetment and attempts to commit sexual offences against children.
Further, the NCST recommended invoking relevant provisions under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021, and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
The commission also recommended handing over the victim to her parents and conducting a thorough investigation against all those involved in the allegedly unlawful marriage. So far, the aforementioned sections, including those under the POCSO Act, have been invoked against anyone, including Farman Khan. Dubey stated that the NCST has summoned the DGPs of Kerala and Madhya Pradesh to its headquarters in New Delhi on April 22, and further action is expected thereafter.
