British Indian man banned from leaving Sri Lanka after his newly-wed wife dies on honeymoon
London, May 12: A newly-wed British Indian man is stuck in Sri Lanka after his wife died from a mysterious illness at a hotel in the country on their honeymoon.
Khilan Chandaria is being barred by the Sri Lankan authorities from leaving the country until an investigation into the death of his 31-year-old wife, Usheila Patel, is concluded.
Chandaria, a 33-year-old phone shop owner from north-west London, has not been arrested or charged in connection with his wife's death but is not being permitted to return to his home in the UK.
"I don't want to leave without her. I feel like the whole world is against me. It's been hard to do anything," Chandaria told the UK media from Sri Lanka.
"I don't think the grieving process has really started yet," he said.
The couple were married in London on April 19 before flying off on honeymoon four days later. They had been staying at the five-star beach resort called Amari in the southwestern coastal city of Galle in Sri Lanka. They were scheduled to fly to Maldives on the second leg of the honeymoon.
But they both fell ill and were "feverish and vomiting blood" after consuming some food and drinks at the hotel. They were rushed to a hospital after they called for help to their hotel room.
Patel was pronounced dead at the Karapitiya Hospital in Galle on April 25.
"A post-mortem said she died from dehydration, obviously from vomiting," said Chandaria, who had also noticed a weird "smell" in their hotel room before the suspected food poisoning.
"We are highly confident of our food safety standards," Amari Galle Sri Lanka said in a statement.
While Chandaria had initially been free to leave Sri Lanka, he refused to leave until his wife's body has been released.
He has now been banned from leaving until a government report into the death can be prepared.
"I want to go home knowing my wife will be coming home too and say my last goodbyes," he said.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are supporting a British man in Sri Lanka. Our consular staff have shared advice on bereavement abroad and are in contact with the Sri Lankan authorities."
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Mercury plunges in Kashmir after brief respite, Shopian freezes at minus 6.4 deg C
Srinagar (PTI): Night temperatures in Kashmir dropped several degrees below the freezing point, even as a thick layer of fog engulfed parts of the valley, with Srinagar recording a low of minus 4.1 degrees Celsius, officials said on Saturday.
Shopian was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir as the mercury there settled at a low of minus 6.4 degrees Celsius, they said.
The mercury had on Thursday night settled above the freezing point at most places in the valley, providing huge relief to the residents from the biting cold conditions.
However, temperatures dropped across Kashmir on Friday night, bringing back the freezing cold, the officials said.
On the Friday night, the minimum temperature in Srinagar -- the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir -- settled at minus 4.1 degrees Celsius, a sharp drop from 0.4 degrees Celsius the previous night, the officials said.
The gateway town to the valley, Qazigund, recorded a low of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, while the mercury settled at minus 3.5 degrees Celsius in north Kashmir's Kupwara, and minus 0.2 degrees Celsius in south Kashmir's Kokernag, the officials said.
Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 4.4 degrees Celsius, while Gulmarg lodged minus 2.6 degrees Celsius and Konibal town in Pulwama district recorded minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, they said.
The meteorological department said the weather would remain generally cloudy but dry on December 6-7, and a brief spell of light snowfall at isolated places in the higher reaches of north and central Kashmir is likely on December 8.
