Odisha Royal Family Feud: Adrija Accused Of Making Casteist Remarks Against Help With ‘Jha’ Surname

Bhubaneswar: The marital dispute in the royal family of Odisha’s Balangir has taken a new turn with a case being registered against Arkesh Narayan Singhdeo’s estranged wife Adrija Manjari and her father Ajay Singh under SC/ST Act.

They have been accused of making casteist remarks against a female help, Rabita Jha, working at Arkesh’s house in Dehradun since last 5 years. Adrija’s sister Rucha and driver Sonu are also named in the FIR, sources said.

This came days after a domestic violence case was registered against Arkesh, his father and BJD leader Ananga Udaya Singh Deo, mother Bijayalaxmi Devi, brother Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo and sister-in-law Meghna Rana at Dehradun’s Rajpur police station on Adrija’s allegations of dowry harassment and attempt to murder.

Speaking to the media, Adrija refuted the allegations and termed them as false and baseless. “It is an attempt to cover up the domestic violence case. They must have tipped her to make such false allegations. Moreover, Jha surname is commonly found among Maithil Brahmins of Bihar. My grandfather was against the caste divide and it was he who implemented the Mandal Commission report. And I lives by the values inculcated by him,” said the former PM VP Singh’s granddaughter.

Adrija had earlier claimed that she had to run from pillar to post to get a case registered against the Royal Family under Section 498A (domestic violence) of the IPC after Uttarakhand police confined the FIR to Sections 504 and 506 of the IPC, pertaining to criminal intimidation and intentional insult.

She had then alleged that the Station House Officer in Rajpur had been bought off by the Singh-Deos.

Also Read: Odisha MLA Shashi Behera Dismisses Dowry Torture Charges; Other BJD Leaders Facing Similar Cases

Adrija pushed her case by meeting Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Uttarakhand director general of police (DGP). Following which, Dhami spoke to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and gave strict orders to provide security and speed up the investigation in the case.

She had also sent an SOS to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s and Home Minister Amit Shah’s offices, reports said.

Adrija and Arkesh had got married on November 23, 2017.