'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'
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.
This is really a matter of great shame for all of us because of the Army Doctor. I have heard several cases of this type but i could never understand how can a human deceive and leave someone all alone for whom he claimed love. This is absolutely bull shit and a question for all human being that must be answered. We can not ignore or tolerate such cases now. The justice must be done.
ReplyDeleteI pray for this lady and wish her all the best that she may get justice.
I greatly sympathize with her.Actually,she should have never trusted in an Indian man.I myself have suffered from the cheating nature of Indian people towards forighn people.I was invited to Bangalore for a movie project but I ended with staying 26 days in jail and being cheated with all my one lakh rupees.I would say no never trust Indians.For they are cheaters only.I hope my countrymate would soon get out of that indian mess.
ReplyDeleteSabra, I would also like to speak to you about a possible story in my paper, the Toronto Star of Canada. I am based in New Delhi and can meet any time this week. Please let me know how to reach you. I'm at rwesthead@thestar.ca. My name is Rick Westhead and I am the Star's bureau chief for South Asia
ReplyDeleteAs someone who accepted Islam and came from a Hindu family in India I express my unflinching solidarity with Sabra! I can understand how she feels because unlike Major Pant I did not accept Islam to marry a woman. Men like him should be dealt with severely and unfortunately this case is not an isolated incident. Women in Kashmir have endured atrocities by Indian Army personal for the last 20 years. The fact that the army is so reluctant to discipline the Major is an example of their lack of seriousness in meeting out discipline and desire to maintain a false clean image to the outside world. What was once restricted to India's borders is now going to be visible to the outside.
ReplyDeleteThe whole world needs to rally in Sabra's defense and support otherwise only God knows whether or not such incidents will be repeated by India's men in uniform.
What the hell is the Army doing about the SERIOUS CRIME against HUMANITY?
ReplyDeleteJustice delayed is Justice denied.
Roshni