Marriages are no more made in heaven….not even for the royals! The latest public figure embroiled in a bitter matrimonial battle is the Balangir Royal family of Odisha where Arkesh Narayan Singh Deo, younger son of BJD leader Ananga Udaya Singh Deo, is charged with a domestic violence case by his wife Adrija Manjari.
Adrija is the granddaughter of former Prime Minister VP Singh.
Case:
Couple got married in a lavish royal wedding at Delhi on November 23, 2017. The couple started staying in Dehradun after Arkesh lost the Balangir assembly segment in 2019 polls.
Now, after 5.5 years into the marriage, Adrija had accused her husband and her in-laws of domestic violence, dowry harassment and attempt to murder.
According to an India Today report, on February 10, Uttarakhand police had filed an FIR under Sections 504 and 506 of the IPC, pertaining to criminal intimidation and intentional insult against husband Arkesh, his father, mother Bijayalaxmi Devi, brother Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo and sister-in-law Meghna Rana.
However, Adrija who filed the complaint at Dehradun’s Rajpur police station alleged that the police did not invoke Section 498A of the IPC used in cases related to domestic violence. Adrija informed The Wire that the Station House Officer in Rajpur had been bought off by the Singh-Deos.
Not just this, Adrija also sent an SOS to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s and Home Minister Amit Shah’s offices and one of the top leaders from the central government dialled CM Pushkar Dhami, reported India Today.
Speaking with ANI, SSP Dehradun Dilip Singh Kunwar confirmed that the matter was being investigated.
Allegations by Wife
According to the complaint given by Adrija, she has accused her in-laws of trying to oust her from her marital house in Dehradun. She also claimed that some women were sent by her husband to kill her on May 13. The complaint read:
After sending me divorce papers on September 8, 2022, Arkesh called my sister Richa on September 14 to ask us to vacate the house. In March this year, they installed CCTV cameras on the premises of the house to keep an eye on me and directed the domestic help as well as other staff to humiliate and abuse me.
She has also named one Hari Singh and house staff Dinesh and Ravita for allegedly threatening her, invading her privacy and creating nuisance on the premises at the behest of her husband and father-in-law. The complaint added:
On May 1, 2023, Hari Singh, on Arkesh, Kalikesh and Anang Uday Singh Deo’s instructions, roughed up a member of my staff and forcefully took away the house keys from him. He then cut off the water supply to the house and changed the locks.
Statement by Arkesh – Husband’s Side
After wife Adrija made her allegations public, Arkesh too has shared his side of the story via YouTube videos. At the outset, he has refuted all the accusations. In his video statement, Arkesh said,
Adrija filed a domestic violence case against me about six to eight months ago. I left that house after the case was filed. Her sister lives in that house for last two years. Her father lives there for 15-20 days every month. Based on police recommendation, I have tried to set up CCTV cameras there for their and my security. However, they cut off the cables for the cameras. I have sent the footage to the police. I rarely visit that house once or twice a month to bring clothes.
About three to four days back, her father put forward some demands before us which was beyond our capability to fulfil. I have told them that the matter is subjudice, however, they continue to build pressure on us.
They are linked to some land mafia. There is a man named Prashant Mallick from Saharanpur. Most importantly, when I asked him why he is bringing in tens of anti-socials from Saharanpur to my house, he said that he would bring in hundreds of them. I have video evidence of that.
In a following statement, Arkesh added that when he was visiting the said house three to four days back in police presence, Adrija’s father, supported by anti-social elements, did not allow him in and later Adrija “politicised” the issue.
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You can watch detailed statement by Arkesh below (Source: OTV News):
#WATCH | Domestic Violence Case Hits Odisha's Royal Family | Husband's Side
🔹️Arkesh Narayan Singh Deo | "About three to four days back, her father put forward some demands before us, which was beyond our capability to fulfill. I have told them that matter is subjudice.… pic.twitter.com/VSKUlgDVUN
— Voice For Men India (@voiceformenind) May 23, 2023
DO WATCH:
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