Surat couple Khushi-Kadir elope, appear in Star News studio

Kadir, 23, and his girl friend, Khushi, 16, who were in love for nearly three years, ran away from Surat and straight headed to Star News studio in Mumbai.

The minor (legally) girl was fully aware (and so was her boy friend) that a channel studio would be the best place to seek refuge and also make others listen their story. As the couple reached there, the entire staff went into high-mode.

After all, they had the opportunity to telecast the 'live news' that was 'developing' and 'breaking' and also had the ingredients of Bollywood Masala. Abdul Kadir Khan Nalband alias Kabir (does he spell Qadir) and Khushi's every moves and steps were captured and were made to enter the studio gates again to get the images. As the teeanged girl held hands of her lover and they sat on the sofa, the camera covered from all angles.

The entire day was devoted to the story of Qadir-Khushi. The police were called and it was also 'shown live'. The psychologists and counsellors were spoken to. And the TV channel clearly marched ahead of other rivals in terms of TRP. The girl was sent to a Home for Destitute and Homeless while the youth, who works in Reliance Web World, spent the night at the police station. Interestingly, one day Star turned it into national news and the next day there was no mention to this story.

The Delhi High Court, in a recent case where a 16-year-old Muslim girl had eloped with a Hindu boy, said that the girl had gone willingly and refused to accept her father's contention that she was kidnapped. In wake of this decision the Khushi-Kadir case, which came to limelight a day later, surely created interest. The couple wanted to marry though Khushi was not yet 17.

The girl, Khushi alias Rukku, kept saying that her father wanted to kill her by poisoning as she was in love with a Muslim girl but insisted that it was not Kadir who coaxed her but it was the other way round. "I lured him and forced him to elope with me", she said. Surely the Priyanka-Umar story that caught the fancy of nation recently, gave the couple inspiration.

Now the Indian Express provides us with the latest that the girl was taken by Gujarat police to Surat and the youth would be produced in the court as her parents had lodged a case of abduction (kidnapping) against him. Let's see what the judge thinks. But Star TV should surely have kept the viewers updated.

The case of Vivek-Afsana in Delhi where the girl married the boy and is now known as Anjali, came to light recently. The Delhi High court gave decision in their favour. Afsana was also 16-years-old. But court held that her being minor didn't mean that she could be married off by her father against her wishes.

Click for the Indian Express followup here
For the story on how they fell in love. Click here