Waseem Raja Mughal, a Bhaderwah (J&K)-born actor was supposed to marry, Damini Bhajanka, a Mumbai-based disc jockey, also known as DJ Dionne.
Bhajanka, originally from Guwahati, left him three days before the wedding was supposed to take place.
Mughal said, "For more than three months, I had no idea about her or where she was. I filed reports with the police and petitioned the courts, but no one helped me.”
The pair decided to tie the knot in December of last year, with the agreement of their families, in a Mumbai marriage registry office.
However, the girl's parents asked her to return home under the pretext of some important work.
Upon returning home, Bhajanka was allegedly abducted by family members and forced into a drug recovery centre in Assam, against her will, despite having no records of her being a substance abuser, according to Mughal.
Mughal added that she was held hostage at a rehabilitation centre for three months and reportedly subjected to physical and emotional abuse. He stated that he filed a complaint with the National Commission for Women on January 3rd.
After certain media outlets covered the story, Bhajanka's family surreptitiously transported her to a resort in Shillong, where she was able to call him from a phone.
Later, Bhajanka said, “I was surrounded by drug addicts, alcoholics, and criminals. I would stay up all night afraid that any of them could come and hurt me physically.”
Her family, according to Mughal, requested her to record a video stating that she had been living peacefully with them for the past three months.
"I informed the police immediately and they raided the resort and rescued her on 12 March”, adding, "Her family didn't want to get her married to a Muslim man."
Despite Mughal's numerous attempts to seek assistance from the authorities, including submitting reports with the Dispur police and the National Commission for Women, there was little movement at first.
According to accounts, the Assam police referred to it as a "family issue" and accused the DJ of being a drug addict, which the couple denied.
When the pair arrived in Mumbai, they decided to marry right away and tied the wedding on March 21. "We are trying to lodge a zero FIR against the family," the police officer said.
In her report to the police, Bhajanka stated that she married Mughal according to Muslim rituals and customs with her "free will and without any pressure or coercion."
Rights activists denounce Bhajanka's forcible imprisonment as a major breach of her fundamental rights. Undeterred, the pair intends to continue their legal struggle until they receive justice for their experience.
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