Soon after she gave birth to a daughter, accusations started. She was told that giving birth to daughters was in her blood as she did not have a brother. When she was pregnant for the second time, Gurdev asked her to undergo a sex determination test.

When she refused, Gurdev went to Italy. He hasn’t returned but continues to send abusive messages. He has refused to divorce Paramjit. She now stays in Bathinda.

Satwant Kaur, a resident of Patiala, got married to Sarvan Singh, an NRI from Italy, around five years ago.

After a month and a half, her husband returned to Italy. Satwant says she was abused and tortured by her in-laws. Her father gave them Rs 1 lakh.

She says she was molested by her brother-in-law. Satwant returned to her father’s house. She has a three-year-old daughter and is determined to go to Italy on her own and start a new life.

The experiences were narrated by women married to NRIs at a seminar titled “Women shackled in NRI weddings” at Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector 26, Chandigarh.

“There are 15,000 such cases in Punjab. Parents should be more careful while finalising an alliance and not show undue haste,” says Daljit Kaur, a legal expert in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.