Taking serious note of the accusation against senior Indian diplomat, Anil Verma, of assaulting his wife, the Ministry of External Affairs transferred him back here from London.
Mr. Verma, who was posted to London in late 2009 returns ahead of his scheduled tenure with immediate affect, sources in the Ministry said here, adding that action would be taken based on the findings of the probe into the allegations.
He served as Minister (Economic) in the Indian High Commission and according to newspaper reports he had allegedly attacked his wife after a heated argument during December. Soon after the reports, the Ministry said it was aware of them and both the Ministry and the High Commission were looking into the matter.
Wife goes into hiding
PTI reports from London:
Fearing threat to her life, the wife of Mr. Verma has gone into hiding with the couple's five-year-old son, a media report said on Sunday.
Ms. Paromita Verma moved out of their home and has applied for leave to remain in the U.K. on humanitarian grounds amid fears that she would be forcibly taken back to India, the Daily Mail reported.
An IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, Mr. Verma, who is the third senior-most diplomat in the High Commission, had reportedly sought immunity from prosecution after being questioned by the police over claims that he assaulted his wife in December.
“Throughout their time over here, Anil would boast about his diplomatic immunity and he would tell Paromita that no one could touch him because of it. He would goad her and say, ‘Call the police as many times as you want. I've got diplomatic immunity.'
“He was shameless with it. He has been given so much power and he is abusing it. Paromita has gone into hiding and seriously fears that her safety and health are in jeopardy,” a close family friend of the Vermas was quoted by the British newspaper as saying.
