Bride dupes NRI husband to reach
lover
Ludhiana, December 20, 2005
Amrita Chaudhry
Express India
The tales of NRI grooms duping Punjabi girls with
the lure of marriage and a future abroad are aplenty,
but this is probably the first of its kind case, where
a Punjabi girl has duped an NRI groom.
The NRI, who is now running from pillar to post in
Jagraon, demanding justice.
Satpaul (Steve) Dhaliwal, a Canadian citizen, alleges
that he married Rukhwant Kaur Toor, a resident of
village Swaddi in March 2003. After five days of marriage,
he left for Canada.
Dhaliwal says that 15 months later, Rukhwant telephoned
him, telling him that she had reached Surrey, Canada.
“But she has not reached there till date. A few
months ago, I received a request for divorce from
Rukhwant, who lives with her boyfriend either in Brahmton
or Toronto.”
Dhaliwal alleges that Rukhwant cheated him. “She
used him as a step to land in Canada, because I am
a Canadian citizen and sponsored her. She went to
Canada only to be united with her lover, not with
her husband. But I will not divorce her. I want her
to come to her native village and seek a divorce here,
so that everyone here comes to know how she has treated
me.”
Dhaliwal further alleged, “Rukhwant has taken
away all the jewellery, her own as well as the ornaments
and I gave her, the clothes, and the registry of my
ancestral home which is in Sangrur district. I want
to cancel her sponsorship and get her back here in
India,” says the pained groom. “I had relationships
with other women in Canada before I married Rukhwant,
but my mother wanted me to marry an Indian girl,”
he adds.
Dhaliwal points out that he was caught up in his
family business, after his father and brother passed
away in quick succession. “In February 2003,
I came to India to hunt for a bride. Rukhwant’s
massi (maternal aunt) and her husband arranged this
marriage for us. I had told Rukhwant that I was 38
years old at the time of marriage while she was 24,
but neither she nor her parents objected to this big
age gap. Even during the 15 months that we spent apart,
we were regularly in touch over the phone and not
even once did she tell me about her boyfriend, or
give any indication that she could be such a fraud.
All she would tell me was how she missed me and wanted
to be with me.”
Dhaliwal says Rukhwant was supposed to reach Canada
in July 2004. “I went to receive her with my
family and friends, but she never reached there. We
kept going back to the airport for the next two days,
but in vain. When I called her family in India, they
told me that they had put her on the plane and know
nothing about what happened later. But from her divorce
papers, I came to know that she landed in Canada on
July 10 and went off to be with her lover. I was the
one, who paid for all her expenses,” he said.
Satpaul Dhaliwal has lodged a complaint with Jagraon
police against his bride and her family, accusing
them of cheating him. Jagraon SSP R K Jaiswal has
appointed SP Headquarter Jarnail Singh Dhaliwal as
the Inquiry Officer.
When contacted, the SP said, “The case is clear
that the girl has duped this man. But the role of
her family in this entire episode is yet to be ascertained,
because they claim that all they know is that Rukhwant
had gone to be with her husband. Yet, her family did
not lodge any complaint with the police after they
learnt that their daughter had not met her husband.
This has made us doubt their role. I have called the
girl’ family tomorrow, after which I will submit
my report to the SSP for necessary action,” said
the SP.
