Date:28/10/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/10/28/stories/2007102858490300.htm

Other States - Orissa

Court directive to Kashmiri woman

Staff Reporter

Nazia says that, unable to cope with torture by her husband, she has come away with a youth from Orissa.

BHUBANESWAR: A local court here on Saturday ordered that Nazia Bano, a woman from Kashmir, who ’eloped’ with a youth from Orissa, should continue to stay at a city-based short stay home till the escort party from her State arrived here. Observing that the Kashmir police had no adequate escort personnel to take both accused and victim with them, Sonali Patnaik, judicial magistrate (first class), directed the Kashmir police should bring an escort party and production warrant from Chief Judicial Magistrate of Badagaon (Jammu and Kashmir) to take both back.

She rejected bail plea moved by Digambar Bisoi, the youth from Orissa’s Nayagarh district, who was accused in the case. The magistrate remanded Bisoi to Special Jail, Bhubaneswar, till November 7. Earlier speaking to reporters at the short stay home run by Ruchika Social Service Organisation, Nazia Bano, mother of four children, said she had fled with Bisoi when torture by her husband became unbearable.

Nazia said Bisoi was a witness to the torture by her husband. "Neither I had any affair with him nor do I want to marry him. But my only concern was to save my life. Bisoi turned up in right time to give me shelter," she said.

Meanwhile, Nazia’s cousin brother and husband have come to Bhubaneswar to take her back to Kashmir. "I don’t want to go back to that hell.

If I was sent to Kashmir, my life would be at risk," she said. Nazia, a native of Tekapur village in Badagaon district of Jammu and Kashmir, made plea that she should not be forced to go back to her earlier life. Meanwhile, spokesperson of Ruchika Social Service Organisation Benudhar Senapati said if both accused and victim were sent to Kashmir they should be accompanied by a police team.