NRI Arrested For Allegedly Torturing Wife, 9 Years After Complaint

A court in Rupnagar on Monday sent an Indian-origin US citizen to judicial remand till April 10 for allegedly torturing his wife, in a case that dates back to 2008.

The order was passed by Chief Judicial Magistrate Jasbir Kaur.

Jatinder Vashisht, a US citizen, was arrested on Sunday by Punjab Police. He had managed to flee the country while facing allegations of dowry harassment and had recently returned after about nine years.

Jatinder had married a woman from Ghanauli village near Rupnagar on December 11, 2003. The woman accompanied her husband to the US after the marriage and on November 16, 2005, gave birth to a boy.

According to her, after the birth of the child, her husband and in-laws started torturing her for more dowry and even sent her back to India for bringing less dowry at the time of her wedding.

Her father subsequently lodged a complaint at Sadar police station in Rupnagar against her husband, father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Accordingly, a case under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 34 (common intention), IPC was registered against the three on April 5, 2008.

Subsequently, Jatinder applied for anticipatory bail before the Sessions Judge, Rupnagar and was granted interim bail on the condition that he would deposit his passport with the police.

The passport was deposited with the police on April 19, 2008 but Jatinder later got it back, allegedly in connivance with police personnel.

On a complaint from the victim's father, the police conducted a departmental enquiry against Sadar Station House Officer Tejpal Singh and Additional SHO Vinod Kumar and they were booked for dereliction of duty.

In the meantime, Jatinder managed to flee the country and was subsequently declared a proclaimed offender by the court. After about nine years, he returned to India. Acting on a tip-off, the police arrested him on Sunday.