Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The Hindu (India): Army officer accused of duping Afghan woman

http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/30/stories/2008123053310400.htm

Army officer accused of duping Afghan woman
Tuesday, Dec 30, 2008
Staff Reporter

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Sabra claims to have married Major Chandrasekhar Pant in Kabul two years ago
She is being supported by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union
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NEW DELHI: Accusing a Major in the Indian Army’s Medical Corps of marrying and then deserting her, Afghan national Sabra on Monday met Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram to put forth her complaint and seek justice.

Sabra, who claims to have married Major (Dr.) Chandrasekhar Pant in Kabul two years ago, after he converted to Islam, alleges that she was unaware that Major Pant had a wife and two children back home.

Speaking to media persons on Monday, Sabra recalled that she met Major Pant during his stint as a doctor at the Indira Gandhi Hospital run by the Indian diplomatic mission in Kabul where she worked as a translator.

“I was initially attached as a translator to another doctor, but Major Pant asked for my services as he seemed unhappy with his translator. During the course of time he asked for my hand in marriage, but my parents refused on the ground that we were from different religions and he was much older than me,” she said.

Turned down by her parents, Sabra claims the doctor went on to change his religion and took on the name Himmat Khan. “When he changed his religion for the sake of getting married to me, my parents were led into believing that he was truly committed. And since he was a doctor, they felt by marrying us off they could secure my future,” said Sabra who is being supported by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union.

According to Sabra, the marriage was solemnised in November 2006. “After 15 days of living together, he told me that he has to go to India on work and that he will return in a year’s time with his parents,” she said.

The wait stretched to two years and Sabra decided to come to India to seek out her husband. On landing in India, Sabra went to the Army Hospital in Pithoragarh where the Major is currently posted. “I told him that he should either come with me to Afghanistan and I will have no qualms if his family accompanies him there or he should let me stay here with him or grant me divorce in front of the people who got us married. Since he is unwilling to agree to any of these, I have decided to seek justice from the Government of this country,” said Sabra. Having made several representations, including one for an extension of her visa, Sabra’s hopes now rest on the Home Ministry.

Zee News (India): Army probing allegation of Afghan woman against doctor

http://www.zeenews.com/nation/2008-12-31/494947news.html

Army probing allegation of Afghan woman against doctor
New Delhi, Dec 30
Bureau Report

The Army on Tuesday said it was probing the claim of a young Afghan woman who alleged that a married Indian Army doctor duped her into wedlock during his stint in the Indian Mission in Kabul.

Army's Director General of Medical Services Lt Gen N K Parmar said the allegations against Major Dr Chandrashekhar Pant were being investigated and if found guilty action will be taken against the doctor.

Action will be taken based on the report of the investigation," Parmar told reporters here.

A resident of Kabul, Sabra Khan, yesterday met Home Minister P Chidambaram seeking his permission to prosecute the doctor.

Noting that the case is a complex one as a foreign national is involved in it, Parmer said the Army was not denying. "We will have to find out the truth and if he is found guilty, action will be taken against him."

He, however, said the doctor has denied all the allegations.

According to Sabra, she worked with the Indian Mission in Kabul, when she married Major Dr Chandrashekhar Pant for whom she had worked as a translator in 2006.

The doctor had converted to Islam to marry her and changed his name to Himmat Khan but did not reveal his actual marital status, claimed Sabra, who is in India for the past one month to seek justice.

MiD Day (India): Khuda gawah, he duped me

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2008/dec/301208-Sabra-Khan-Afghan-woman-wedlock-seeks-permission-prosecute-Indian-Army-husband.htm

'Khuda gawah, he duped me'
By: MiD DAY CorrespondentDate: 2008-12-30

Afghan woman, allegedly tricked into wedlock, seeks permission to prosecute Indian Army 'husband'

Seeking justice: Sabra Khan shows her husband's photographs at a press conference on Monday (Picture by IMTIYAZ KHAN).

Delhi: A young Afghan woman has arrived in India looking for her lost love. Sabra Khan has been here for the past one month seeking permission from the Indian government to persecute her husband, who she alleges, abandoned her in Afghanistan.

If Sabra is to be believed, her husband is a doctor with the Indian Army, who converted to Islam to marry her but did not reveal that he had been married earlier to an Indian woman.

Sabra even met Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday.

Her lawyer Raveendra Singh Garhia said, "We have been assured by the Home Ministry that a proper investigation will be carried out and appropriate action will be taken against the person if found guilty."

According to Sabra, she was working with the Indira Gandhi Hospital run by the Indian mission in Kabul, when she married Major Dr Chandrashekhar Pant, for whom she had worked as a translator in 2006. She claimed that 15 days after staying with her, the doctor left for India on a posting.

Sabra's world turned upside down when after a few months, he called her up to say that he couldn't get her to India as he was already married and had two kids.

Sabra said that last month she arrived in India and went to meet the major at the Army hospital at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand, but did not get a favourable response from him.

She has also registered a complaint with the National Commission for Women, which is yet to respond to her plea. The police have expressed inability to take any action in the matter without the permission of the Central government as the offence was committed outside India's territory.

She says Major Chandrashekhar Pant, currently posted as a doctor at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand, married her in Afghanistan. She claims Pant didn't reveal he was a married man.

Times Now TV (India): Afghan bride deserted by Indian Major

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTu4cThA1nk