Delhi has topped the list of complaints registered by women abandoned by their non-resident Indian ‘husbands’ as per the latest figures (2012-13) released by the National Commission for Women (NCW). In Delhi, the largest number of complaints have been registered by women who have been abandoned by ‘husbands’ based in the United States (19) followed by Australia (8).
The Commission has also registered cases from Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Talking about the trend, NCW Chairperson Mamta Sharma said: “Previously, we used to get a large number of cases from Punjab, but we feel that because of the sustained work that we have been doing with the public there, parents and girls are now more careful and often insist on a thorough background check of the groom, his family and financial standing. We are happy to note that Punjab has so far registered only 30 cases of women being duped by NRI husbands.’’
She added that in the past four years, of the 984 cases registered with the Commission’s NRI cell, 177 are from Delhi and many of them are from educated women. “The complaints that we get include demand for dowry, mental and physical cruelty, abandonment of the women (in India or abroad) and non-consummation of marriage. After we get a formal complaint we write to our diplomatic office asking for their intervention and to follow-up the case with the boy’s family. The aim is to ensure that the accused responds to the complaint and that the woman is adequately compensated,’’ added Ms. Singh.
NCW member Nirmala Samant Prabhavalkar said: “The Commission gets complaints from women across the country. Complaints also come from educated women, who often meet these men on the Internet or matrimonial site and then get married without adequate information about the man. Education and creating awareness about the problem is key to ensuring that women don’t fall prey to this form of exploitation.’’
