A 25-year-old woman from Hyderabad has alleged mental harassment and physical assault by her cop husband in Chicago, and has written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for his urgent intervention in the matter.
The woman claimed she was in a "state of distress and humiliation" and was left stranded in India after her husband forcibly took away her legal documents before fleeing to the US.
In her letter to Mr Jaishankar on August 22, the victim, Hana Ahmed Khan, accused her husband Mohammed Zain Uddin, a US national, of subjecting her to continuous "emotional abuse, physical harassment and mental torture" since they got married on June 22, 2022.
Ms Khan claimed trouble broke out after Mr Uddin, an officer with the Chicago Police Department, returned to the US shortly after their marriage in Hyderabad and refused to take her with him for nearly two years.
She said she eventually travelled to the US on February 17, 2024 after Mr Uddin processed her visa. "Unfortunately, upon my arrival, I was subjected to emotional abuse, physical harassment, and mental torture. Despite these challenges, I remained hopeful that the situation would improve. However, the mistreatment continued," she said in the letter.
She later told reporters that at one point she summoned the cops to complain after her husband assaulted her. "The cops let him off with a warning," she said.
She alleged that her husband coerced her to initiate divorce proceedings despite her objection.
After she received her Social Security Card and Green Card, "in what appeared to be an attempt to reconcile", Ms Khan said Mr Uddin suggested they travel to India and later go for an Umrah - a religious pilgrimage - in Saudi Arabia. The couple checked into a hotel for their stay.
"He then asked me to visit my family. While I was away, I received a call from the hotel management informing me that my luggage had been removed from the room and that my husband had checked out and left for the airport," she said in the letter.
She added that on returning to the hotel, she found her belongings, including her passport, green card and personal jewellery, missing.
She sought the External Affairs Minister's help to retrieve her documents and return to the US to enable her to fight her case against her husband legally.
"I went to the consulate (in Hyderabad) but did not get much help. I have been struggling for the last four to five months," she told reporters.
In a separate police complaint, the woman alleged her family spent Rs 20 lakh on her wedding and even provided gold and gifts that were sought as dowry.
She sought the External Affairs Minister's help to issue her documents and help her return to the US to enable her to fight her case against her husband legally.
Mr Zainuddin's advocate Aashir khan, however, claimed the couple has already officially separated. "My client Mr Zainuddin has already obtained a divorce from her. The circuit court in Illinois has already granted divorce and they are no more married. So these are wasteless allegations and hopefully truth will be out soon," he said.
