The delegation comprised Ms M.K. Jabbi from the Council for Social Development, New Delhi, Ms Belu Mehshwari from the History Department of Panjab University, Ms Mamta Ojha, Dr Sangeeta Sharma and Mr Yogesh Snehi. Mr Ram Parkash, DSP (H), was accompanying them.

Forty deserted wives of NRIs were invited by the women cell of the Community Policing Resource Centre, Hoshiarpur, for appearing before the members of the delegation, but only 20 turned up for the meeting. Majority of them were still hopeful of their reunion with their husbands.

Balwinder Kaur, who has a five-year-old daughter, told her sorrowful plight in chocked voice. She said she was married to NRI Roop Lal, serving in Belgium, on December 3, 1997. The engagement came through efforts of her aunt.

After staying with her for 14 days, Roop Lal left for Belgium. Later, her in-laws got prepared her passport and she was sent to Belgium on one-month visa on September 16, 1998. There she came to know that Roop Lal was already married there with a Belgium girl. She was mentally and physically tortured by her husband and his first wife there.

Later, she was shifted to Italy where she stayed illegally with close relatives of Roop Lal. She was blessed with a daughter there in August 1999. She was deported to India on January 28, 2000.

She was now living with her parents. Her father was a petty shopkeeper at Bulhowal village. Her husband and in-laws were insisting on divorce. They never paid her anything for her own and her daughter’s maintenance. However, she was still interested in rejoining her husband. Similar are the plights of Kulwinder Kaur, wife of NRI Jaspal Chaudhry of Lebanon, Rajinder Kaur, wife of NRI Shobha Singh of Kuwait, Jaswinder Kaur, wife of Jora Masih of England, and Bharti Singh, wife of NRI Kuldip Singh of Canada. All of them have a child each and are living with their parents under miserable conditions.

Ms Belu Mehshwari, while talking to mediapersons said the Ministry of Human Rights Department had sent this delegation to meet the victims and to listen their grievances. She said this was the first meeting of the delegation with deserted wives of NRIs. It would meet more such women at Chandigarh tomorrow.

After covering the entire northern India within four months, it would submit its report with its findings and suggestions to the ministry. She said members of the delegation were shocked to listen the sorrowful plight of young deserted wives of NRIs. At present, there was no law to settle their cases and to ensure their rehabilitation, she said.

After studying such cases, the delegation would suggest the department to ask the Central and state governments to formulate a law for NRIs who were exploiting innocent young girls in the name of marriage and were ruining their lives.