Evening star., 1928-09-06
SUIT LINKS EX-RAJAH OF INDORE
WITH ANOTHER WOMAN AFFAIR
Nancy MiIIer's Potentate
Husband Asked for $780,
600 Damages.
Charge Says He Demanded
Possession of Native
Beauty.

! BY the Associated Press.
/ BOMBAY, India, September 6-Once
again the name of Tukojirao Holkar,
| former Maharajah of Indore, has been
linked publicly with that of woman In
such q way as to call widespread atten-
ton to the erstwhile Indian potentate.
Twice before at least has this hap
pened; once in 1925, when the mer-
chant friend of former dancing girl
of his was murdered in Bombay, ana
Just this year when he chose an Amerl-
can girl, Miss Nancy Miller OF Seattle,
Wash, for a bride.
Also Charges Theft.
Yesterday it was the former member
of the household of cousin who
charged him, with Turing her to his own
residence and there attempting to gain
her daughter as his companion. When
she thwarted his purposes, she says, he
caused both her and her daughter to
be imprisoned, keeping them incarcer-
ated for more than II years, while ne,
meanwhile, deSpoiled her own residence
of furniture and jewelry.
The charges are made in the course
of a high court appeal case in which
the woman, Sowkabai Pandarlnatlon
Rajpurkar, asks for $4,000 rupees
The alleged damages.
1t is Ralpurkar's story that while
she was a member of the household OF
the cousin of the exMaharajah, Tat
yasaheb Holkar, in 1915, he sent MS
agents to her and caused her to come
TO his own house to take part ia feStlvl-
ties connected with the birth of child
to his second wife.
On the day after her arrival there,
she saws, he had her arrested and I'M
priSoned in MandaleshWar Fort, Wnere
he visited her. On one OF these visits
he is alleged to have made the proposal
that she give him her daughter, who
had accompanied her to Indore and had
been arrested, too.
PetitiOned VicerOy.
Upon her refusal, he subjected both
daughter and mother to imprisonment
and cruelties from which she gained
their release only in 1926, following pc
titions to the British viceroy, who IN
the meantime had caused the deposi-
ton of Tukojirao as Maharajah as
result of revelations growing out OF
another affair.
The former Maharajah, who is sup
nosed here to be in Paris with his
American wife, is fighting the action
on the grounds that the alleged events
took place in Indore, outside the Bom-
bay jurisdiction. A denial OF cruelty
has also been entered into the record
The question of jurisdiction has been
taken under adviSement on ne plea OF
counsel for the plaintiff for conf1rma-
ton of the order of Justice Devar that
the case should be tried in the nlgn
court at Bombay. Justice DeVar nao
stated in his opinion: In view OF the
revelations of the Bawla murder case.
I conclude that If this unfortunate
woman dares to enter the state of In
dore, her life would most probably oe
in Jeopardy again."
Rolling in Wealth"
He added that it would be simply
a denial of justice If she who was
deprived of her liberty for IL years
should also lose her property without
cause" adding that her former Mana
raiah was rolling in wealth and had
officers, henehmen and agents who were
at his beck and call for purposes both
good and nefarious."
The Bawla murder case to which
Justice Devar referred occurred In jan
uary, 1925, and led eventually to Iu-
kopirao's deposition as Maharajah OF
Indore. It followed the escape OF his
dancing girl, Mumtaz Begun, from his
seraglio to Bombay after she had been
a member of his domestic establishment
for several years and had borne him
a son who had been killed, allegedly
by his agents.
At Bombay she took refuge with one
of the richest and most influential mer-
chants there named Abdul-Kabir Baw-
Ia The Maharaiah tried in vain to have
her come back to him. Finlly, one