New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS) Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has written to Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar seeking immediate action in the suicide case of Mandeep Kaur, who died by suicide in New York due to domestic violence.
In her letter, DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal demanded that the woman's mortal remains be repatriated to her family in India and a team of psychologists, social workers and police officers meet her children and ascertain their condition.
A report on the same be submitted before a Judicial Magistrate, who should be requested to examine the matter and suggest steps for the welfare of the children. The same should be carried out urgently, she stated.
The letter said that it appears that the accused was arrested by NYPD, but the present status of his arrest is unknown. Measures should be taken to ensure his arrest and if needed, the GOI should appoint a lawyer on behalf of the family of the victim to fight the case expeditiously.
The FIRS filed against the accused and his family in India should be investigated and tried in a time-bound manner. Efforts must be made to work towards ensuring that such a case does not re-occur.
"All consulates and NGOs should be asked to get in touch with NRI women and in case any of them is a victim of domestic violence, requisite help should be provided," she said.
Thirty-two year-old Mandeep Kaur had died by suicide in New York on August 3. Before taking the extreme step, she had recorded a video recounting the abuses she suffered at the hands of her husband Ranjodhbeer Singh Sandhu over the past eight years.
She was married to him in 2015 and moved to New York in 2018. After the marriage, she was harassed by her husband and in-laws for not giving birth to a male child and for not getting "enough" dowry.
The now-deceased woman can also be heard talking about her husband's multiple extramarital affairs. She made several unsuccessful attempts to escape her abusive marriage before committing suicide.
The accused have been identified as Nitin Pratap alias Atul and Sandeep Kumar -- residents of Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh. Police said the accused used a Suzuki Gixxer motorcycle for the last two months to commit the crime in Gurugram and Rajasthan, and they used to travel from Tapukara in Rajasthan once a week to snatch mobile phones.
The deceased, identified as Megha Kayal, 40, was working as a doctor in London Milton Keynes University Hospital. Prior to this, she was a doctor at Apollo hospital, Sarita Vihar, Delhi.
A gofundme has raised US$70,000 for the victim family. The bodies of the four family members – who have been identified after autopsies as Jagdish Patel, 39, his wife Vaishaliben Patel, 37, daughter Vihangi Patel, 11, and son Dharmik Patel, 3 – are currently lying in a morgue in Winnipeg.
Senior advocate and Additional Solicitor General Rupinder Singh Suri passed away, sources said here on Monday. According to reports, he was battling Covid-related complications for over a week. He is survived by his wife Gurvinder and advocate daughters Suruchi and Simar.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana told the Punjab government counsel to advise his government to refrain from launching criminal cases against the political opponents, just before the election. The top court directed Majithia to surrender on February 24 before the trial court and seek regular bail.
The chief minister further said that from Monday onwards, they have started recouping farmers' loss. "By providing them with a financial assistance of Rs 20,000 per acre, Delhi is paying the highest compensation amount across the nation," he tweeted, adding that they have handed over cheques amounting to Rs 2.5 lakh or 3 lakh.
