Team News Riveting
Bhopal, July 22
The royal battle in Panna of Madhya Pradesh took an ugly twist when police arrested the “Maharani” of erstwhile princely state.
The action came on the complaint of “Rajmata” Dilhar Kumari who charged “Maharani” Jiteshwari Devi of threatening her with dire consequences. The police said that a case of threatening to kill the 75-year-old “Rajmata” and also under Arms Act was registered against 50-year-old Jiteshwari Devi. She was produced before the local court from where Jiteshwari was sent to judicial custody.
A rift in the erstwhile royal family, which resides in the sprawling Raj Mandir palace and owns properties across Panna, Lucknow, Mumbai, Bhopal and other places, has been going steady for well over a decade. The family also owns diamond mines.
Spats between the Rajmata and the Maharani over the royal property have often spilled out in public. In 2015, Devi had made public the will of Panna’s ex-Maharaja (Rajmata’s husband) Manvendra Singh, alleging it claimed his property should go to his granddaughter (Devi’s daughter).
Devi had alleged that Krishna Kumari was an illegitimate child of Manvendra Singh and hence could not partake in the property. The Rajmata had rubbished her claims, calling it a “forged document” intended to prevent Krishna Kumari from her rightful share.
In 2005, Jiteshwari’s husband Raghvendra was jailed after his father, the Maharaja lodged a complaint of theft against him.
According to superintendent of police (SP), Dharamraj Meena, a case was registered in June, 2021 following the complaint of Dilhari Kumari. Besides Devi, an FIR has reportedly been registered against over half a dozen people of the family, including her husband Maharaja Raghvendra.
Jiteshwari Devi told reporters that a false case was registered against her. “My husband has been suffering from illness. Therefore, people are taking advantage. It is a completely false allegation levelled against me,” she said.
