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Miss India Laxmi Pandit returns crown
Indian beauty queen Laxmi Pandit, who at the weekend was declared first runner-up in Miss India 2004, returned her crown Wednesday amid claims she is married and did not meet the age requirements of the contest, an official said. The organsiers of the event is not taking any legal action against her as she has decided to return the crown on her own, says an official.Pandit found herself fighting for her crown after controversy erupted Monday that she is not single as the rules stipulate. Private television channel Aaj Tak claimed Pandit was married to aspiring model Siddharth Mishra but had hidden her marital status in order to gain entry to the contest. On the same day, in an interview with Aaj Tak, she denied she was married declining to give details of her relation with Mishra. However, subsequent investigations appear to have opened a can of worms. Although the former Miss India-World filed an affidavit claiming she's a model by profession, officials claimed this was found to be incorrect upon scrutiny. This had been given as the ostensible cause for her disqualification by the pageant organisers. According to rules of the Miss India contest, those above the age of 24 are barred from participating. Laxmi's removal from the list of winners has left the field open for second runners-up Sayali Bhagat to take over her crown and represent India at the Miss World contest. Source: The Hindustan Times Tabloid, Mumbai
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