Pakistani girl who was arrested for illegally staying in India returns home, says family
Karachi, Feb 21: A minor Pakistani girl who went missing from her home in Hyderabad city in the southern Sindh province last September and was arrested from Bengaluru in January has returned back, her family said on Tuesday.
The girl, identified as Iqra Jeevani, entered India in September through the porous India-Nepal border. She married a 25-year-old security guard from Uttar Pradesh, whom she met through a gaming app.
The girl's father, Sohail Jeewani, said they had already gone through a lot of pain and embarrassment and just wanted to move on.
"I don't want her or anyone else in my family to speak on this issue. What has happened has happened. Yes I confirm she has been returned to us and we are leaving from Lahore tonight," Sohail told PTI over phone before hanging up.
The girl's case has garnered a lot of attention in both countries after she was recovered by the Indian authorities in January in Bengaluru.
Iqra, who is 16 years of age, left her home in Shahi Bazar in Hyderabad for her college - Federal Government Girls College - on September 19, 2022 and was found four months later in Bengaluru when police arrested a young boy she was living with.
It transpired she had developed a friendship and then relationship with the Indian man, Mulayam Singh Yadav, and apparently married him.
"She had called us from India in early January to inform us she was safe and married to this Indian man," her uncle Afzal Jeewani said.
A senior police official said the family informed them about the call and they got in touch through required channels with the Pakistan foreign office who then contacted their Indian counterparts to help find and recover the girl.
A few days after her contact, she was arrested along with her purported husband.
Afzal claimed that the Indian man had deceived his niece by posing as a Muslim boy when the two met on social media while playing online Ludo games.
According to reports, Bengaluru police arrested Yadav, accusing him of bringing a Pakistani girl to India after befriending her.
Iqra was subsequently handed over to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office officials, who later remanded her to a state home for women.
She was handed over to the Pakistani authorities on Sunday at the Wagah border.
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B'luru: "Least priority, shifted late," says brother of patient who died in Ramaiah hospital fire
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Bengaluru: Hours after a fire broke out at the Critical Care Unit (CCU) of the MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital on New BEL Road on Thursday, a 34-year-old patient, Sujay Sujathan Panicker, tragically passed away. His family has accused the hospital authorities of negligence, which they claim led to his death.
The fire at Ramaiah Memorial Hospital is believed to have been caused by a short circuit. Initial reports suggested that there were no casualties in the incident.
Sujay, originally from Kollam in Kerala, had been residing in Bengaluru with his family since 2004. He was undergoing treatment for pneumonia, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), and H1N1 since September 1 at the hospital.
Sujay's wife and father released a video accusing the hospital of negligence. In the video, his wife, Rohini Jayan, alleged that the hospital authorities took no action against those responsible for the fire.
Sujay’s brother, Sujin Sujathan Panicker, speaking to Vartha Bharathi, detailed the family’s ordeal. He said that despite his sister-in-law requesting assistance during the chaos, the hospital staff pushed her away, assuring her that all patients had been safely evacuated to the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU). However, Sujin claims that his sister-in-law did not see Sujay being shifted.
He further stated, “Sometime later, when a doctor arrived, she (Rohini) inquired about Sujay. It was only after the doctor questioned the staff that they rushed to evacuate him.”
Sujin added that by the time his brother was evacuated, 50 minutes had already passed since the fire broke out. "He was still inside, while all the other patients were taken out first. He was admitted to the hospital with a respiratory illness, yet he was given the least priority during the chaos. He was the last one to be evacuated."
He also claimed that Rohini had already noticed that Sujay’s condition had deteriorated and believed he had passed away, though the hospital authorities did not officially declare his death.
Sujin further stated that the hospital authorities called him and his father to the board room at the 8th floor of the hospital, where senior executives and doctors who had treated Sujay were present “During the interaction they (hospital authorities) claimed that Sujay was still alive and that his condition had worsened amid the smoke and that his chances of survival were less, which was not true.”
"Despite staff being present to evacuate my brother, they remained negligent. The fire broke out at 1:00 p.m., so why did it take 50 minutes to get him out? He was in a corner bed in the CCU, and it seemed they either overlooked the room or ignored it. Even after repeated requests, it took them 50 minutes to evacuate him," Sujin added.
Sujin also expressed concerns that the hospital authorities might attempt to influence the investigation. "They can influence anyone—any hospital, any report."
At the time of the interview, Sujin stated that neither anyone from the government nor from the health department had contacted the family.
A complaint has been filed in connection with the incident at the Sadashivanagar police station. "The statements of the family members have been recorded, and an investigation into the matter is underway. An FIR has been lodged under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) Section 106 (causing death due to negligence)," said Sadashivanagar police station Sub-Inspector.
Meanwhile, officials from Ramaiah Memorial Hospital were unavailable for comment.
