Ranchi (Jharkhand): His change of Facebook profile status to “married” and photographs posted with his spouse announced they were married. She is the same girl he and his father were accused of abducting on July 29.
What made the case intriguing is that he is the son of an MLA – Ramchandra Baitha – and already married twice. Â
According to police investigations, the Facebook update was made on August 1, two days before the girl’s father lodged the abduction complaint against the Kanke MLA and his son on August 3. The same night, the MLA had also lodged a counter-complaint against the girl’s father Shiv Kumar Mahto and six others, accusing them of kidnapping his son.
After the couple made their marital status public, the MLA merely said, “What’s wrong in it if they got married.” Meanwhile, the father of the girl refused to comment. Kanke police station officer in-charge Saryu Anand said that they would have to “follow procedure” and take the cases to their logical conclusion.
“We will produce the girl in court for her statement. She will also be sent for medical examination,” Anand added. However, problem for the police does not end here.
According to a report, the MLA’s son had tied the knot twice earlier and allegedly separated from his two wives without formally divorcing any one of them. Chandan allegedly deserted his first wife within a week of marriage and the second wife after a few years. He has two children from his second marriage.
Police said Chandan and the third wife had earlier eloped two months ago but were brought back by their respective families. Then, too, “missing” complaints were lodged by both the families but the love-struck couple managed to flee from home and elope once again, police said.
“If he has not divorced his first wife, his subsequent marriages will be declared null and void,” said a legal expert. “His first wife can lodge a complaint of adultery against her husband and the girl.”