M A I N   N E W S

Home Secy’s father-in-law held
Gujral alleges fraud in marriage
From Ruchika Mohindra
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Sept 19 — Barely a fortnight after his marriage, the Home Secretary, Union Territory of Chandigarh, Mr Ramindar Singh Gujral, has accused his bride of polyandry, fraud and criminal conspiracy with her father and a former husband.

On a written complaint filed by Mr Gujral, the local police has registered a case under Sections 495, 420 and 120-B of the IPC against his wife, Manpreet Oberoi, father-in-law, S.S. Oberoi and Vishal Aggarwal, a local businessman and a former husband of Manpreet.

The Home Secretary has alleged that Manpreet and her father cheated him by hiding the fact that she had been married twice before they got married and that she had not got a divorce even once. The police has already arrested Mr S.S. Oberoi and Vishal Aggarwal. Manpreet is still in the USA where she had gone for a honeymoon. While, Mr Gujral had returned from the USA last week, she had decided to stay put for a while.

Mr Gujral has alleged that when the marriage had been arranged between the couple by common friends, he had only been told about Manpreet’s first marriage to an Army personnel, a child from this wedlock and had been made to believe that she had been divorced since then. He has further said that it was only after they went to the USA for their honeymoon that he came to know that she had also been allegedly married to one Vishal Aggarwal.

He says he came back to India and after collecting documentary proofs to substantiate his allegations, he decided to get the accused booked.

He has alleged that the three persons had wanted to use his name as an IAS officer and get benefits from it.

It is learnt that Manpreet was staying in Delhi after her first divorce and was working in a private company there. She had allegedly become involved with Vishal in 1992. Interestingly Vishal was four years younger to her and their relationship continued till 1998, when both of them fell apart. It is alleged that the couple were living in together for a while before they had a “Gandharva Vivah”. Even the daughter of Manpreet, Mallika, was quite close to Vishal and had taken his surname and Vishal was reportedly also providing for Manpreet, her father and her daughter. The police has also procured bank documents and credit cards to substantiate these claims.

It is learnt that the couple decided to go their own separate ways after Vishal too began mistrusting her. After this, Manpreet came back to Ludhiana and then shifted to Chandigarh in April this year. The alliance between the accused and Mr Gujral was arranged in the second week of August and the couple got married on August 24 and left for the USA on August 27.

Meanwhile, Mr S.S. Oberoi, one of the accused while defending his daughter said that they had not cheated Mr Gujral. He said his daughter had never ever been married to Vishal Aggarwal and that Mr Gujral was suspicious by nature. “Vishal was a friend of our neighbour and through this neighbour had become a friend of my daughter. After her first divorce, he had helped Manpreet get out of her depression and this was the only association between them.” He said he had already asked Mr Gujral to settle the dispute first and then they would proceed for divorce.

However, Vishal himself confessed to having an affair with Manpreet till about two years ago. But denied they had been close since they broke off in 1998. He said his family obligations had forced him to withdraw from Manpreet. He also rued that because of this case, his engagement to another girl was likely to be called off and he had little chance of marriage left.