'I Was Locked': Woman Flees Forced Marriage in Haryana, Faces Police Harassment in Mumbai
Mumbai: When 27-year-old Hemlata’s parents tried to forcibly marry her off, she took a bold step. Having lived under constant scrutiny in Adampur town, Hisar, Haryana, Hemlata left home on August 13 and arrived in Mumbai. As an adult, she assumed her decision to live independently would not lead to trouble, let alone legal harassment from police in two states.
However, after she went missing, her parents filed a missing person’s complaint. This marked the beginning of her ordeal. Hemlata claims both the Haryana and Mumbai police have been harassing her and pressuring her to return home. The harassment included detention at Mankhurd police station, interrogation as if she were an accused person, and veiled threats of severe consequences, she told The Wire.
A science graduate and government employee at a local Block Development and Panchayat Office (BDPO), Hemlata belongs to the Brahmin community. She says her family allowed her to pursue education but controlled every aspect of her life. “It was a stifling atmosphere where my parents made every decision. Friendships or relationships with people from other castes would easily provoke their anger,” she claims.
In the FIR filed by her mother, the Adampur police invoked Section 127(6) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which penalises wrongful confinement. By the nature of the complaint, Hemlata is a victim of a purported abduction.
The search, initially limited to Hisar, extended to Mumbai after Hemlata withdrew cash from an ATM in Navi Mumbai. “I was careful when leaving home. I switched off my phone and carried cash for my initial days in Mumbai,” she says. The ATM transaction allowed the Haryana police to trace her location, access bank CCTV footage and identify the organisation that helped her reach Mumbai, find a job and secure a place to live under the Mankhurd police’s jurisdiction.
The Mankhurd police have been questioning not only Hemlata but also members of Stree Mukti League, a women’s rights organisation that assisted her in her decision. On August 24, Pooja, an occupational therapist and member of the organisation, received a late-night call from Belapur police accusing her of “abducting” Hemlata.
“Since her parents filed a case of illegal confinement and my organisation helped her, they said I would face consequences,” Pooja said.
The police insisted on meeting Pooja late at night. When she agreed only to meet in a public space, they arrived with Mankhurd police and some of Hemlata’s relatives, who were in Mumbai. On August 25, Pooja and Hemlata visited Mankhurd police station, where Hemlata was allegedly detained in senior police inspector Madhu Gorphade’s room for over three hours.
“I was locked in her room with my brother and other family members, and they kept insisting I return to Haryana. Even when I emphasised that I came to Mumbai voluntarily, Gorphade claimed I had to return because of the police case,” Hemlata says.
When contacted by The Wire, Gorphade reiterated, “She is an adult, agreed, but there is a case pending in Haryana, and she must appear before the court.”
Despite calls from The Wire and other media outlets, the police continued to detain Hemlata. Her lawyer, Pritha Paul, along with Pooja, who tried to intervene, were not allowed to meet her. Finally late in the evening on August 25, she was allowed to go. But the police, Hemlata claims, have since been harassing the owner of the place where she had been staying.
Since the incident, Hemlata has gone into hiding again. She claims her influential parents, with “connections” to the ruling BJP, have mobilised police in both Haryana and Mumbai. “I have a government job and a family with wealth and luxuries. Yet, I took this extreme step to start anew in an unknown city with an uncertain future. That should show how stifling it is for an independent, thinking woman to live in such a household,” Hemlata says.
This article went live on August twenty-seventh, two thousand twenty five, at twenty-seven minutes past five in the evening.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
