Sirish Bharadwaj, 22, who married Srija, 19, at a secret ceremony in Arya Samaj temple on October 18, was involved in the kidnapping of a girl five years ago, Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar police station inspector Venkata Ratnam said. He was arrested on March 30, 2002, and was subsequently released on bail, Ratnam said.

The case, registered on the basis of a complaint filed by the girl's father, was then treated as a juvenile offence as Bharadwaj was still a minor. The case came to light in the wake of the flutter created by the marriage.

Srija, a chatered accountancy student, defied her family's wishes and walked out of her home to enter into wedlock with her boyfriend, with whom she was in love for four years.

The couple had sought police protection fearing threat to their lives from her family. The whereabouts of the couple is still not known, as they are yet to contact their families.

While Chiranjeevi is said to be in a state of shock ever since he learnt of his daughter's marriage, the groom's father Venkata Ramana Murthy, an advocate, said his wife and he were staying at a relative's place as they feared threat from the actor's fans.

Murthy admitted his son was involved in a kidnap case five years ago. He made it clear that he had disapproved of the marriage proposal and told his son not to go ahead with his plans.