Online love -- Court rules in NRI girl's favour

Online love -- Court rules in NRI girl's favour
JATINDER PREET

KHANNA (PUNJAB), JUNE 28: The smile came back on Sukhwinder Kaur's face on Monday, when Khanna sub-divisional Magistrate S S Gill allowed her to go to her husband Tony Frances, escorted by his lawyer, provided she accepted police protection upto New Delhi.

Sukhwinder, the expatriate girl who fell in love with Frances on the Internet, was presented before the SDM on Wednesday morning by the local police who had brought her here from Pune in compliance with a search warrant issued on June 20.

Earlier, the SDM asked everyone present in the court room to leave as Sukhwinder asked for permission to talk alone with him. In her statement before the SDM, she reportedly alleged that she feared for her life as her parents were threatening to kill her if she set foot beyond Pune.

Sukhwinder told the SDM: "I told my parents whatever had to happen had happened and that they should reach a compromise with my husband's family. I told them I would be in Canada within a week of meeting my husband in Pune."However, she said, her parents brought her here forcibly and then tried to pressure her into signing the divorce papers. "My parents threatened me that they would get a false case registered against me," she alleged.

Declaring herself ready to go to Pune with Frances' lawyer D H Nikate, Sukhwinder said she would be living with their in-laws there. "I have lived with my mother-in-law and father-in-law for 20 days. They are nice people and love me very much."

Emotional scenes were the order of the day as Sukhwinder's parents and relatives thronged the court. The weeping parents of the girl refused to say anything to the press as they waited for the verdict.

Both her parents were called in by the SDM for their statements after Sukhwinder stated her case. They left as soon as they came out of the court room.

Soon afterwards, Sukhwinder left with Nikate, accompanied by a police party, for New Delhi where her husband Tony Frances and mother-in-law were waiting for her.