A four-member team of the Madhya Pradesh Police, which has arrived in Kochi to investigate the controversial marriage of the “Kumbh Mela viral girl”, Monalisa Bhosle, and her husband, Farman Khan, have intensified their search for the couple.
Photo: IANS
A four-member team of the Madhya Pradesh Police, which has arrived in Kochi to investigate the controversial marriage of the “Kumbh Mela viral girl”, Monalisa Bhosle, and her husband, Farman Khan, have intensified their search for the couple.
The MP Police team has intensified its search in areas like Thrikkakara and Binanipuram in Kochi, where mobile tower signals for Monalisa and her husband, Farman Khan, were last traced. The team, comprising a circle Inspector, a female SI, and two constables, stated that they intend to stay in Kochi until they record the girl’s statement while the couple is considering moving the high court to quash the FIR.
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Reports suggest that Monalisa will not appear before the MP Police of her own free will. She has reportedly moved to a secret location to avoid being taken back to Madhya Pradesh. The Madhya Pradesh Police instructed those assisting them to produce the girl before them for recording her statement.
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Monolisa has submitted a petition to the State Police Chief and the Kochi City Police Commissioner seeking protection. In her petition, she claimed that she is 18-year-old and alleged that there could be attempts to forcibly take her to Madhya Pradesh.
The Kerala High Court on April 8 granted Farman Khan interim protection from arrest till 20th of this month.
The Madhya Pradesh Police have registered a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case against Farman Khan, the husband of Monolisa Bhosle, following the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes'(NCST) finding that the girl was a minor at the time of marriage.
While the couple claimed that Monalisa was an adult (18+) at the time of their marriage on March 11, 2026, in Kerala, an inquiry by the NCST and subsequent investigation revealed that she was a minor, reported to be approximately 16 years and 2 months old.
The Kumbh Mela viral star got married on March 11 at the Arumanoor Sri Nainar Deva Temple in Thiruvananthapuram. The NCST found that the girl was only 16 years and two months old at the time of marriage. It found that a fake certificate was made for the marriage. Hospital records in Madhya Pradesh show that the girl was born on December 30, 2009. The commission’s report also states that a fake birth certificate was made for the marriage. With this, a case has been registered against Farman Khan under the POCSO Act
CPM Kerala secretary M V Govindan, Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty, and Rajya Sabha MP A A Rahim participated in the marriage. They championed the wedding of Monalisa and Farman Khan as a symbol of “the real Kerala story”.
The NCST has summoned the Directors General of Police from both Kerala and Madhya Pradesh to appear in New Delhi on April 22, 2026. The commission is demanding accountability for how a minor was allowed to marry under the patronage of public representatives using allegedly forged documents.
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