Srinagar- Three days before his wedding, Waseem Raja Mughal’s world crumbled. The Bhaderwah-born actor, his heart brimming with pre-wedding jitters and joy, waited in vain for his bride, Damini Bhajanka, Mumbai-based disc jockey, also known as DJ Dionne.
Mughal had eagerly counted down the days until their wedding in Mumbai, envisioning a future filled with love and laughter. Yet, just as their union seemed imminent, Bhajanka disappeared without a trace. No goodbye note, no frantic phone call, just a deafening silence that screamed something far more sinister than cold feet.
Six years ago, Mughal, 39 crossed paths with Bhajanka, 27 in Mumbai, both fell in love with each other and were living happily together.
Fond of acting from his childhood, Mughal tried his luck in a number of small-time dramas and films in Mumbai.
“I have worked in a number of serials and web series for the last 12 years,” he told Kashmir Observer.
“I decided to marry the love of my life. But little did I know that I will have to go through numerous trials and tribulations to unite with her,” Mughal added.In December last year, the couple decided to get married with the consent of their families at a marriage registration office in Mumbai. However, the girl’s parents called her home in Gauhati under the pretext of important work. Upon reaching home, Bhajanka was allegedly abducted by family members and forcefully admitted to a drug rehab center in Assam against her wishes.
“For over three months, I had no idea about her. I lodged complaints in police stations, filed petitions in courts but no one was helping me,” Mughal told Kashmir Observer.
Mughal emphasized that despite Bhajanka not being a drug addict, she was held captive in a rehabilitation center for three months, where she allegedly endured physical and mental abuse. He added that he filed a complaint with the National Commission of Women on January 3rd.
According to Mughal, her brother reportedly cancelled her DJ gigs and even returned a 50,000 rupee advance payment to an organizer on her behalf.
“I used to protest on the streets of Mumbai alone for three months and I didn’t give-up,” Mughal said.
Bhanjaka told a news website, “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.”
She added that she had been prohibited from meeting any family members for over six weeks. After approximately 40 days, her maternal uncle finally visited her. She recounted pleading with him to take her back home, but he adamantly refused, stating with pride that they had prevented her from marrying a Muslim man.
After some media organizations in Assam picked-up the story, Bhajanka’s family quietly moved her to a resort in Shillong where she managed to call him from a phone.
Her family, according to Mughal, asked her to make a video saying that she had been living happily with them for the last three months.
“I informed the police immediately and they raided the resort and rescued her on 12 March,” he said, adding, “her family didn’t want to get her married to a muslim man.”
Despite Mughal’s repeated attempts to get help from the authorities, including filing reports with the Dispur police and the National Commission for Women, there was no progress at first. The Assam police, according to the reports, called it a “family issue” and called the DJ a drug addict—a claim that the couple contested.
On reaching Mumbai, the couple decided to marry without wasting further time and tied the knot on 21 March. “We are trying to lodge a zero FIR against the family,” he added.
In her information to police, Bhajanka said that she got married Mughal according to Muslim rites and customs with her “free wish and without any pressure, coercion”
“…But my parents are against this marriage. I state that I left my parents home with my own free will and consent without taking any cash and jewelry, I have only my own cloth, which I wear,” reads the information to police.
It further requests police to notify them if her parents file any complaints against her or her husband regarding their marriage.
Mughal said his wife has willingly converted and they are living without any fear now. “She is now named Aleeza,” Mughal said.
Rights advocates condemn Bhajanka’s involuntary confinement as a serious violation of her fundamental freedoms. Undeterred, the couple vows to continue their legal fight until they see justice for the ordeal they have endured.
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