Love, SDM and dhokha? The story of Jyoti Maurya:

The story of Jyoti Maurya, an SDM in Uttar Pradesh, and her husband Alok, a Class-IV employee, has hooked the nation. On the face of it, the story is a mere domestic issue between a husband and wife. But with social media commentators weighing in, the story has evolved into a fiery debate.

A fiery debate started on social media after Alok Maurya alleged that he funded the studies of his wife, Jyoti Maurya, but she left him after becoming an SDM. (Image: Vani Gupta/India Today)

Prateek Chakraborty, Dev Goswami, India Today, New Delhi, July 6, 2023: A man in Bihar's Buxar stopped his wife from going to a coaching class, fearing she would clear the exam, become an officer and leave him for good. The man's fears were apparently fuelled by the viral video of a UP man crying buckets after his wife, who became a Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), left him.

In the video, the man, Alok Maurya, is seen shedding copious tears over his wife Jyoti Maurya leaving him after becoming an SDM.

The story of Jyoti Maurya has hooked the nation. And it isn't a straight one.

Infidelity, corruption, death threats, and sexism; these are just some of the elements that make up the story of Jyoti Maurya, a civil servant in the Uttar Pradesh government, and her husband Alok, a Class-IV employee (the lowest level in government jobs).

On the face of it, the story is a mere domestic issue, a turbulent relationship between a husband and wife. But with social media commentators weighing in, the story has evolved into a fiery debate.

One group sees it as a classic case of a successful woman being undermined by a society envious of her achievements. The other suggests it's a story of a husband who has been maligned and wronged. Cue the hashtag ‘Jyoti Maurya bewafaa hai’ (Jyoti Maurya is unfaithful).

From Twitter and Instagram to Reddit and YouTube, the story Jyoti Maurya has been a rage on social media for the last few days. And it all began with the viral video.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

In late June, Alok’s interaction with a bunch of reporters went viral on social media. In the video, Alok accuses Jyoti of cheating on him and is seen breaking down over a failing marriage and not being able to meet his children.

According to Alok, a Class-IV employee in the panchayati raj department in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh, he married Varanasi’s Jyoti in 2010. Over the years, Alok said, he funded his wife's studies and even took a loan so that she could get the coaching needed to fulfil her dream of becoming a state government officer.

The efforts bore fruit in 2015 – the same year the couple was blessed with twin daughters – when Jyoti secured the 16th rank in the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Civil Service examination.

A SOUR TURN

Things changed in a few years. According to Alok, Jyoti – now a sub-divisional magistrate – began looking down on him and started an affair with Manish Dubey, a home guard commandant in Ghaziabad. Alok referred to WhatsApp chats purportedly exchanged between Jyoti and Manish and also claimed to have caught the two "red-handed" in 2020.

Alok said he secretly followed his wife to Lucknow after growing suspicious of her frequent “official visits” there. There, Alok claimed to have found out that his wife used to spend her nights at a hotel with Manish. The bookings for the hotel rooms were done by Manish. Alok claimed to have caught Jyoti and Manish leaving the hotel. When he accosted his wife about the man who was accompanying her, she introduced Manish to him and said he was her lover.

CORRUPTION AND DEATH THREATS

Alok’s allegations did not end there. He accused his wife of being corrupt and claimed to be in possession of a 100-page diary that contained details of around Rs 6 lakh that Jyoti had earned through dishonest means.

Alok also said that Jyoti and Manish had conspired to get him killed and that he had WhatsApp chats that revealed a plot to murder him.

Both the claims are now being probed. The corruption charge is being probed by the Uttar Pradesh’s home guard unit in Prayagraj while a police complaint over the death threats has been filed at Prayagraj’s Dhoomangunj police station.

JYOTI MAURYA’S COUNTER

After Alok’s video interaction with the media went viral, Jyoti Maurya made counter-claims. Jyoti said Alok, who’s employed as a sweeper, had portrayed himself as a gram panchayat officer when he proposed marriage. Alok's designation was even printed on their wedding invitation cards, Jyoti said.

Jyoti also alleged that her WhatsApp messages with Manish, which went viral on social media, had been distorted.

She went on to file a complaint against Alok under the Information Technology Act at the Dhoomangunj police station.

Jyoti said that a thorough investigation into the matter is underway and the truth will ultimately come out.

SOCIAL MEDIA CAN’T HAVE ENOUGH

With allegations and counter-allegations aplenty, Jyoti and Alok Maurya’s story became a rage on social media and invited polarising commentary.

Some sympathised with Alok and faulted Jyoti for cheating on her husband who had "taken the pain to ensure that her dreams turned into a reality".

'Jyoti Maurya bewafaa hai’ (Jyoti Maurya is unfaithful) was a statement that accompanied posts on Twitter and Instagram while a video on YouTube had comments demanding a ‘national commission for men’.

Others faulted this reaction, labelling it as another example of people's misogynist mindset. Several people on the internet said a woman has the right to be educated in the age of modern era and has the independence to make a choice.

The Jyoti-Alok Maurya story also sparked fake news.

Rumours spread on social media that around 135 married women studying at coaching institutes in Prayagraj had been asked to return to their homes by their husbands to avoid a Jyoti-Alok-type situation. A reality check by India Today/Aaj Tak found the claims to be false.

CONTROVERSY CONTINUES

The controversy around Jyoti Maurya took a fresh turn this week.

A video purportedly featuring Jyoti Maurya has gone viral on social media. The video features a woman, who isn’t clearly identifiable, using casteist slurs.

The accompanying claim is that the woman in the video is Jyoti Maurya and that the slurs she is using are for her husband, Alok. Jyoti Maurya has called the video fake and said she has never used derogatory remarks.

The authenticity of the video is being investigated by the police.

The Buxar man stopping his wife from attending coaching classes is one of several incidents that have surfaced after the Jyoti Maurya case. One can never be sure if it is a genuine case or a ploy by an opportunistic couple to get a few minutes of social media attention.

The woman in Buxar, whose husband is asking her to give up her dream, has approached the police now. Khushboo has appealed to the police to convince her husband, Pintoo, to let her take coaching classes so that she can clear the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exam.

"I will not become Jyoti Maurya and I am not disloyal. Please convince my husband not to stop me from taking classes," Khushboo told the police. Khushboo was attending coaching classes in Prayagraj.

In Set Max-favourite 'Sooryavansham', the uneducated bus driver Heera Thakur, played by Amitabh Bachchan, struggles and funds his wife's education. She goes on to become an IAS officer and they live happily ever after.

But there's a difference between reel and real life. There is Heera Thakur and there is Alok Maurya.