MUZAFFARNAGAR/ROORKEE: On a bitterly cold December night in 2022, Rajat Kumar and Nishu were driving along the Delhi-Dehradun highway near Roorkee when they spotted a wrecked Mercedes—flipped upside down, smoke rising from its crushed frame.
Rushing to help, they pulled a bleeding, semi-conscious man from the mangled vehicle and called the police, staying by his side until help arrived. It was only later they realised they had saved cricketer Rishabh Pant. Grateful for their selflessness, Pant later called them “heroes who helped me… I’ll be forever grateful and indebted.” Months later, he gifted Rajat a scooter as a token of appreciation.
Now, Rajat lies in a hospital bed—not as a hero, but as an accused man fighting for his life. On Sunday, he and his girlfriend Manu Kashyap consumed poison together. Their love had always been forbidden—caste differences, family opposition, and marriages arranged elsewhere made their future impossible. Facing separation, they saw only one way out.
Their tragic pact came to light when a villager from Buchha Basti saw them convulsing on the ground and raised an alarm. By the time their families reached them, the poison had already done its damage. Rushed to a nearby hospital, their fates soon diverged—Manu’s family moved her to another facility, where she died before dawn on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Rajat, barely holding on, continues to receive treatment.
Mere hours after Manu was cremated, her mother walked into Purkazi police station and filed a case against Rajat, accusing him of poisoning her daughter. The village that once took pride in his bravery now murmurs about scandal and betrayal. In a place where “family honour” carries more weight than love, a couple defying societal norms becomes more than just a personal crisis—it turns into a communal one.
Muzaffarnagar SP Satyanarayan Prajapat confirmed that no police case had been registered until Manu’s mother stepped in. “We have received a written complaint from the woman’s family, accusing Rajat of poisoning her,” said police official Singh.
Meanwhile, doctors treating Rajat say his condition is showing signs of improvement. “Both consumed a strong pesticide,” said Dr. Dinesh Tripathi of Pragya Hospital. “We began immediate treatment. Manu’s family moved her elsewhere, but Rajat is improving under our care.”
