5-yr-old case crops up against Chiranjeevi’s ’son-in-law’

October 18th, 2007

There is no blessing yet from the father of the bride. Instead, what Srija, the newly wed daughter of Chiranjeevi, is having to face is the name of her husband Shirish Bharadwaj being dragged into a five-year-old kidnapping case.

The Telugu mega starâ€™s aides on Thursday leaked that Shirish had been arrested in 2002 for abducting a girl. Police found Shirish, who was then 16, and the girl near a lodge, the story went. Police returned the girl to her parents, who had lodged a complaint of abduction.

Shirish was arrested and a case booked for obtaining the custody of a minor. He was then remanded and brought before a court, but was acquitted as the girl did not testify against him.

Chiranjeeviâ€™s fans in coastal Andhra, where his Kapu community has significant presence, were disappointed as the star did not issue any statement blessing the couple.

Shirishâ€™s father G Ramanamurthy told reporters that he had advised his son against his friendship with Srija after coming to know of her family. “I came to know of their relationship three months ago and asked my son to end it because of the difference in the social status of the two families. He was not ready to agree.”

Ramanamurthy said he and his wife were staying at a relativeâ€™s house fearing threat to their lives from Chiranjeeviâ€™s fans. Though Srija and Shirish claimed on Wednesday they needed police protection, they did not make any formal request on Thursday. According to sources, the couple stayed with friends on Wednesday night, but left the state on Thursday. Source: timesofindia