Sanjay tied in forgery knot - Actor's marriage on hold after Maanyata's 'husband' moves court SAMYABRATA RAY GOSWAMI Sanjay with Maanyata shortly after their marriage in Mumbai on Monday. (Fotocorp)
Mumbai, Feb. 16: The Goa administration has suspended Sanjay Dutt's court marriage a day after a man moved a Mumbai court claiming he was Maanyata's husband. The bride's affidavit of being single is being probed, South Goa collector G.P. Naik said today. He added a second charge: a forged residence certificate for Maanyata was used to get the union registered in Goa. Maanyata and Sanjay, who is on bail in an arms possession case, could face the charges of polygamy, perjury, forgery and bribery of a government official if the state believes it has a case after investigations, sources said. The registrar's office, which suspended the marriage pending the investigations, has court powers and submitting a false affidavit to it amounts to perjury. Sanjay and Maanyata have also had a Hindu wedding in Mumbai after the February 7 registration in Goa. But if the polygamy charge is proved, it will be annulled, too. Naik said either the bride or the groom must be a resident of a particular state for at least six months if their marriage is to be registered there. "Sanjay Dutt and Maanyata used a fake signature on a residence certificate given to Maanyata," Naik said. The couple had signed the marriage papers before Chandrakant Pissurlekar, the sub-registrar of Salcete in Margao. "Pissurlekar's office relied on a residence certificate issued by the office of the mamlatdar (a senior official), showing Maanyata's address as House No 1743, Aquem-Alto, Margao, for the last six months," Naik said. "However, the mamlatdar's signature was later found to have been forged by a clerk in his office. The clerk has been suspended." Also, while filing the affidavit that said she was unmarried, Maanyata had failed to attach a divorce decree as required, Naik said. She would, however, need to do that only if she had ever married Meraj-ul Shaikh, a jailed eve-teaser who told a court yesterday that Maanyata was his wife. Meraj, who said neither he nor Maanyata had sought divorce till now, sought legal proceedings against Sanjay and his bride for violating Muslim marriage laws. Naik said all documents relating to the marriage registration had been sent to the Goa law department. "The marriage cannot go ahead till the law department clears it. We are investigating how Sanjay and Maanyata acquired the forged documents. We will take action against them." Meraj told the court that Maanyata, earlier known as Dilnashin Ahmed, was an "item girl" in B-grade Bollywood flicks and married him on April 5, 2003. He said the couple had a son who now lived with Maanyata's mother in Dubai, and sought the boy's custody. The man, who claims to be an aspiring scriptwriter, was jailed for sending vulgar text messages to leading actresses. The Goa BJP waded into the controversy, saying political clout was used to gain the residence certificate. Sanjay's sister is a Congress MP and so was his late father. "I wonder why no FIR has been registered yet though forgery has been proved," said Goa BJP general secretary Govind Parvatkar. http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080217/jsp/nation/story_8913099.jsp
