Court sends ‘minor' wife to remand home

Kishore Angre, 28, had come to the Bombay high court to get a kidnapping complaint, filed against him by father-in-law Pradeep Mete, quashed. But things took an unexpected turn on Thursday after the court was told that Angre’s wife, Mira (name changed), was 17 years old.

Justice BD Bhosale directed the state to send Mira to a children’s remand home at Umerkhedi.

Angre’s petition had stated that Mira did not wish to live with her parents, and left her house on August 14, 2009. He tried to pursue her to go back, but she refused and travelled with him to Nashik, Hyderabad and Sindhudurg, and subsequently married him.
Mete filed a case against Angre four days after Mira left home.

Additional public prosecutor Sangeeta Shinde said 18 offences were registered against Angre. But justice Bhosale said, “The interest of petitioner No2 (Mira) is more important than the cases against petitioner No1 (Angre).”

The court was told Mira had been four-month pregnant, but her parents forced her to abort the child.