Princess of Agra now prisoner of fear

The Supreme Court last week issued a notice to UP Police and administration on a petition filed by her father R S Chaudhary alleging that his daughter was kidnapped with the connivance of the UP police.

In Agra, everyone involved in the case has a different story to tell—but it begins with the aspirations of a small-town girl with big-city dreams. In the city of Taj, it’s not an unfamiliar story. The State Women’s Commission says there have been as many as 11 such cases in the last couple of years.

Kamna’s story is dotted with contradictions—every time her father wanted to ‘save’ her from her husband, she said she wanted to stay with him. When she finally returned to her parents, she filed a case against them saying they had illegally confined her. Why? She says she was scared.

‘‘I only wanted to become a successful model… I was 19, modelled for the Lakme India Fashion Week at the Harry Baweja Show in 2000, participated in the Taj Mahotsav and a number of ramp shows. I had an offer for a video album with a Bollywood star when my life fell apart,’’ Kamna whispers between venturing frightened glances at her husband who is sitting with his friends on another table at a restaurant.

She says after she was crowned Princess Agra, two senior students took her to a nearby cafe and gave her laced cold drink. Then, she says, taken to the Arya Samaj mandir where Hemant Kumar, a local photographer, married her.

‘‘Hemant started blackmailing me and said he would tell my parents that I eloped with him. I was kidnapped by Hemant and his friends from outside the college in May 2004 and gang-raped. They also made a CD morphing my face on others’ bodies and demanded Rs 10 lakh from my parents. My father filed cases against Hemant for rape, kidnapping and dowry but in the court I had to speak in favour of my husband because they had threatened me,’’ she added.

‘‘Thrice they kidnapped me from my home after my father managed to get me back. They concocted a story about my pregnancy and delivery. I was never pregnant. They keep me under lock and key, give me just one roti to eat for 10 days, beat me up, put me on sedatives. My only hope now is the Supreme Court, please help me get out of here… they will sell me off,’’ she says, showing her hands, cut in several places.

Hemant has another story to tell. ‘‘I have known Kamna from 2001 when she was in the first year of college. We secretly married each other and soon applied for registration in the court. Her parents never approved of me and so they have been filing false cases and harassing my family. My wife gave birth to a baby boy in February and they have hidden our child. I want to live in peace with my wife,’’ he says.

Her father R.S. Chaudhary and mother Kavita have kept photos of Kamna the model and the certificates she won. ‘‘How is my daughter? Did she tell you anything? Did she send a message for me? My daughter was so beautiful, so talented, she could have become a successful model one day. Now, they have ruined her life, left her nowhere,’’ says the mother. ‘‘The whole city talks about her. No one is helping us get our daughter back.’’ The police say the case is not so black-and-white. ‘‘Kamna Chaudhary’s case is very complicated. She had dreams too big for this city and may have got lured into a mariage she later found distasteful. Now she may be feeling cheated and regretting her decision,’’ says a senior police officer.But the father stands by her even though she has changed her version several times. ‘‘I believe my daughter regardless of what the police say. My daughter is trapped and I am going to get her out of this with the help of the Supreme Court,’’ he says.

Meanwhile, at her St John’s College, there is a new dress code—girls are not allowed to wear jeans and tops.