Punjab NRI Accused of Abandoning Wife Arrested at Delhi Airport

A Non-Resident Indian (NRI), wanted by the Punjab Police over charges of abandoning his wife, was arrested at Delhi airport on Oct. 1. The Delhi Police handed Gurmeet Singh over to their Patiala counterparts after he was arrested while  trying to leave for Germany.

Singh’s passport was suspended on Oct. 1 itself, as he was wanted for deserting his wife and a look-out notice was already issued against him, the Hindustan Times reported. Information regarding the suspension of the passport was also flashed to the authorities.

“Since the information regarding suspended passports reflects everywhere, Gurmeet’s attempt to flee was foiled at the Delhi airport. He has been arrested by Patiala police since a criminal case is pending against him,” Deputy Passport Officer Amit Kumar Rawat was quoted as saying by the publication.

Singh’s wife Pritpal Kaur from Samana told the newspaper that she got married to him in January 2011. He was working as a chef in Germany. After one month of marriage, he left for Germany and visited India occasionally. Kaur gave birth to a baby boy in 2012. After that she came to know that Singh was already married in Germany with a white woman and also has children with her.

“I was ousted of my in-laws’ house and what followed was physical abuse and emotional torture in the name of compromise. He dodged the police and he left for Germany in 2015 never to call up again,” she told the publication.

Recently, she came to know that Singh has entered India via Nepal, which led to a look-out circular issued against him.

Singh’s arrest has taken place at a time when authorities are getting tough on NRI husbands accused of fleeing to foreign countries after abandoning their wives in India. 

Regional Passport Offices in Punjab have started writing to the embassies in countries where these wanted NRI men live. They are also planning to write to the employers of these men, so that they know that the passports of their employees have been suspended by India.

The government of India is also working to bring about a new law, under which the accused NRI’s property will be confiscated in India.

“We will not only cancel the passport but also confiscate the property. And NRIs who don’t return, their property could be sold to give financial aid to their aggrieved wives. We will have to make some amendments in the Code of Criminal Procedure,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said at a conference held over the issue of NRI marriage disputes and trafficking of women and children in July this year.