Thiruvananthapuram: In the case relating to the marriage of Monalisa Bhosla, a native of Madhya Pradesh who went viral after her appearances during the Maha Kumbh Mela, CPI(M) candidate from the Nemom constituency and Education Minister V. Sivankutty, CPI(M) State Secretary M.V. Govindan, and District Secretary and Rajya Sabha member A.A. Rahim may have to appear before a court.
Those accused of conspiring to solemnise the marriage of the minor girl using forged documents, arranging accommodation, and facilitating the issuance of a marriage certificate are also likely to face legal action. They may be required to appear in connection with a POCSO case registered by the Madhya Pradesh Police. Jai Singh Bhosla and Lata Bhosla, parents of the minor girl from Khargone belonging to the Hindu Banjara community, have lodged a complaint at the Mandaleshwar police station alleging that their daughter was abducted in what they described as a case of “love jihad.” According to the complaint, the girl was abducted from Bagpat in Uttar Pradesh by Farman Khan, a resident of Maharashtra, and subsequently married.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes recently visited Poovar in Thiruvananthapuram district to investigate the incident. The team collected evidence and recorded the statement of the president of the Arumanoor Srinayinar temple, where the marriage was conducted.
Officials closely examined the marriage register, copies of the Aadhaar cards submitted as identification documents, and the written request filed by Monalisa Bhosla and Farman Khan requesting that the marriage be solemnised.
Mother’s claims had revealed legal and age controversy
The controversy had already intensified earlier after Monalisa Bhosle’s mother publicly claimed that her daughter was a minor, casting serious doubts over the legality of the marriage. In a reported phone conversation with members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Kerala, she had stated that Monalisa was around 16 years old and that the family had neither consented to nor approved the marriage.
Her statement stood in contrast to documents submitted during the wedding process. Monalisa had reportedly provided an Aadhaar card as proof of age, which listed her date of birth as January 1, 2008. While this would make her 18 in 2026 on record, the mother maintained that the documents were either incorrect or misused, and reiterated that her daughter was underage. However, her birth certificate and statements from some family members further contested the validity of the Aadhaar document, claiming that her actual date of birth is December 30, 2009, which would make her a minor. The certificate was obtained from the Department of Planning, Economics & Statistics, Community Health Centre, Maheshwar. The mother had also alleged that the family lost contact with Monalisa after she became widely known following her viral Kumbh Mela photographs. She claimed that her daughter was taken away under pressure and appealed for urgent intervention to bring her back home.
