Viral Kumbh Mela girl 'untraceable', HC vacates security order

Thiruvananthapuram : The Kerala high court has vacated its police protection order for the 'Kumbh Mela girl' whose husband faces kidnapping charges, after authorities reported being unable to trace her.

Kerala high court vacated its order for police protection for the 'Kumbh Mela girl'. The decision came after police reported they could not trace the girl to implement the protection order. The girl's husband, Farman, faces kidnapping charges, as her family claims she is a minor.

The court stated that protection would be provided to the girl if she approaches them seeking it. The girl gained fame after a video of her selling rudraksh garlands at Prayagraj Kumbh Mela went viral.

The Kerala high court on Friday vacated its earlier order directing the police to provide protection to the young girl who shot to fame during the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela and whose husband is now facing charges of kidnapping her, after the police claimed she could not be traced.

The police told Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas that when they tried to implement the protection order, the whereabouts of the girl could not be found, her lawyer P S Anishad said.

Advocate Anishad said that the court directed the police to provide protection to the girl when she approaches it seeking the same. "Interim order vacated. Post on July 21," the court said.

The high court's order for police protection had come on the girl's plea seeking directions to the state government and the SHO of the Ernakulam Central police station to safeguard her life.

The girl's husband, Farman, is accused of kidnapping her in a case registered by Madhya Pradesh police based on a complaint lodged by her father, who has claimed that she is a minor.

With a captivating smile and beautiful eyes, the Indore girl had shot to fame after a virtual content creator shared a video of her selling rudraksh garlands at Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh last year.

She married the man in Kerala, in the presence of senior Communist Party of India-Marxist leaders, despite her family's opposition.

However, her family later claimed that she was a minor, leading to Farman being booked by Madhya Pradesh police for various offences, including kidnapping, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.