Ankit Kapila (33) — who calls himself “Rapper Ansh aka Dili Da Dilwala” — was due to appear before the Dunedin District Court tomorrow on the extremely rare charge.
However, police prosecutor Dave Tod said it was understood Kapila was in India.
Judge Jim Large had issued a warrant for the man’s arrest, meaning if he returned to New Zealand he would be arrested “on the spot”.
Kapila also faces counts of breaching a protection order, threatening to kill, assault in a family relationship and possession of a knife.
His Facebook pages bears the comment: ‘‘I only married once in my life.’’
Kapila said he had been in India for the past six months.
He had struggled immensely being away from his two children, who remained in New Zealand, he said last night.
“I’m in hell sitting here in India ... I’m so much in stress and depression”
When asked why he thought police had charged him, he replied: “How would I know?”
Kapila said he planned to return to New Zealand but was restricted by Covid-19 and the granting of a visa.
On websites, the defendant describes himself as “performer/entertainer/singer-songwriter”, known as “The Punjabi Rockstar”.
“As the name suggests, a man gifted with many talents, warm presence and positive attitude. Widely recognised as a complete entertainment factory,” one blurb said.
He was a ‘‘young, creative, enthusiastic and dynamic performer with a sparkling stream of ideas and vast experience in the field of events and entertainments”, it said.
Kapila claims to have performed in more than 1000 shows including corporate events, festivals and weddings.
The defendant appears to have posted a video publicly online on July 3.
It professes his love for the complainant and features a four-minute slide show of photos of the couple set to an Enrique Iglesias song.
“I love you my kids until I die,” reads an appended comment.
The victim and her supporters declined to speak on the record to the Otago Daily Times.
Most of Kapila’s alleged violence took place in June and the protection order breach a month later.
According to charging documents, the unlawful second marriage took place in 2016.
The maximum penalty for the offence under the Crimes Act is seven years’ imprisonment. However, sentences handed down by the court in recent years have been less severe than jail.
In 2014, Fiona Frances Fielding was given a 12-month deferred sentence when she appeared in the North Shore District Court on a charge of bigamy and one of making a false statement to a marriage celebrant.
The court heard she had split up with her husband three years before the second marriage but neither had filed divorce proceedings.
In 2012, Auckland man Rodney Peach got community work and supervision for the same offence.
The man confessed to police two days after the unlawful second marriage, the Manukau District Court heard.
