Divya Gehlot, wife of Devendra Gehlot, grandson of Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot, has levelled grave allegations of dowry harassment, attempted murder, domestic violence, and abduction of her minor daughter.
The matter reached Ratlam Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar in Madhya Pradesh, where Divya submitted a written complaint seeking urgent action and the safe return of her 4-year-old daughter, who she alleges is being forcibly kept by her in-laws in Ujjain district's Nagda.
According to Divya, her husband Devendra Gehlot (33), father-in-law Jitendra Gehlot (55), a former MLA from Alot, brother-in-law Vishal Gehlot (25), and grandmother-in-law Anita Gehlot (60) have been harassing her for years over a dowry demand of Rs 50 lakh.
She alleged that before marriage, crucial details about her husband's alcoholism, drug addiction, and alleged affairs were deliberately concealed.
The couple married on April 29, 2018, in Tal (Alot), under the Chief Minister's Kanyadaan Yojana, in a ceremony attended by senior leaders, including Thawarchand Gehlot, then Union Minister and former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Divya claims that once she reached her matrimonial home, she discovered her husband was addicted to alcohol and drugs and had relationships with other women. She alleges physical violence, mental torture, and repeated taunts demanding the promised dowry amount.
Divya states that the harassment intensified during her pregnancy in 2021. She alleges she was often denied food, beaten, and mentally tortured. Even after the birth of her daughter, the alleged abuse continued without pause. Although a settlement attempt was made in 2019, Divya says "nothing changed; things only got worse."
In her complaint, Divya recounts a horrifying night on January 26, when her husband reportedly returned home drunk. He allegedly assaulted her brutally and threatened, "If you don't bring money today, I'll kill you." Divya claims he then pushed her off the rooftop. She fell into the gallery below and suffered serious injuries to her spine, shoulder, and waist. She alleges that she was not provided medical care throughout the night.
The next morning, she was taken to a private hospital in Nagda, where doctors declared her critical and referred her to Bombay Hospital in Indore. Divya alleges her parents were never informed and that her father was pressured to pay for the medical expenses.
Divya's biggest agony remains her daughter. She alleges that her in-laws have forcibly kept her 4-year-old daughter and do not allow her to meet the child. She says that when she visited the school in November to see her daughter, her husband stopped her and warned her, "Unless you bring money from your parents, you cannot meet your daughter." She pleaded in her complaint, "Only a mother can properly care for her child... I want my daughter back."
Divya first approached Ratlam SP Amit Kumar, explaining that her parents live in Ratlam and she is currently staying there. However, since most incidents occurred in Nagda (Ujjain district), she was advised to submit a formal complaint to the Ujjain IG and Ujjain SP.
Ratlam Police, however, have accepted her application and forwarded it as required.
Reacting to the allegations, former MLA Jitendra Gehlot said only briefly, "Anyone can make allegations. I will present all the facts before the media."
