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A 23-year-old woman from West Bengal has been stranded in Kochi for the past week after her live-in partner allegedly abandoned her and locked her out of the apartment where they lived together for seven months.
Diya* told TNM that she was unable to enter the apartment and retrieve her belongings, including gold ornaments, clothes, and household items worth around Rs 8 lakh. However, she said the emotional shock of being suddenly abandoned without explanation hurt her the most.
Her partner, Amandeep Singh (29), works as a manager (operations) at the Federal Bank head office in Aluva. Diya said he left Kochi on November 11, telling her that he was going to Jammu to convince his parents about their marriage.
“He left for Jammu, promising me that he would convince his parents of our marriage. I went to my hometown in Kolkata. A week later, he called me and said he did not want to live with me anymore and asked me not to return. He even threatened to throw away all my things from the apartment. Apart from my jewellery and personal belongings, even the appliances in the house belong to me,” she said.
Diya returned to Kochi about a week ago after Amandeep failed to come back as promised on December 7. “I panicked when he did not return. I approached the police and tried to open the apartment with their help, but the landlady did not cooperate. I have been stranded since then, and for the last seven days I have been staying in a hotel in Nedumbassery,” she said.
On December 9, the Nedumbassery airport police registered a missing person FIR after Amandeep contacted Diya and claimed he was travelling back to Kochi. “He called me and said he was on a train from Jammu and would reach Kochi by Tuesday. After that, his phone was switched off. Police traced his last location to Aluva, but he did not report to his office or home. So I filed a missing person complaint,” Diya said.
The next day, on December 10, a lawyer appeared on Amandeep’s behalf at the police station and informed officials that he was not missing but was in hiding and did not wish to live with Diya.
Following this, the Nedumbassery police registered an FIR late on December 11 under Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with sexual intercourse by deceitful means, including false promise of marriage.
Diya said she had met Amandeep through a dating app. “I was working as a PR professional in Bengaluru. We met on Hinge, dated for some time, and he asked me to move to Kochi and live with him. I quit my job and started living with him,” she said.
She also alleged that Amandeep took her to the Aluva Siva temple, tied a taali, applied sindhoor, and promised a legal marriage soon. Problems began when she found chats on his phone. “I saw messages where he had shared my photos with his friend and his friend is asking for my nude pictures. I was completely shattered. Later, I learnt that he had lived with several women earlier in the same apartment. I became depressed and even tried to kill myself,” she said.
Diya said she now wants answers and her belongings back. “I want him to come and explain what happened. I want my things back. I don’t even know where I can keep them because all the home appliances also belong to me,” she said.
Diya* (name changed)