Thirty-seven-year-old Uzbek woman Barno Djuraeva’s “mysterious” journey to India and her subsequent “ordeals” are no less intriguing than a suspense thriller.
Thirty-seven-year-old Uzbek woman Barno Djuraeva’s “mysterious” journey to India and her subsequent “ordeals” are no less intriguing than a suspense thriller.
Eight months after she surfaced in Bhopal in an “inexplicable” circumstance, the police is still struggling to tie the loose ends in her case, beginning from her entry into India, allegedly without valid documents, to delivering her daughter Pari by undertrials, including a transgender, during her ongoing incarceration.
“The case still sounds knotty. But, we have made significant headway, particularly in the past one week. Hopefully, the puzzle surrounding the case would be solved in the near future,” a senior police officer disclosed to this newspaper here on Saturday.
But, in a sudden twist, Barno has sought to dump her counsel Manoj Srivastava who has dropped enough hints that freedom for the Uzbek national and her toddler has remained a far cry.
“It is still unclear as to why she wanted to replace her lawyer to argue her bail plea and why Mr Srivastava’s reported request for an audience with the first secretary (information and culture) from the embassy of Uzbekistan in India, Bektemir Pirnafasov, who for the first time appeared in the court on July 27 during the trial in a district court, was allegedly rejected by the prosecution. It seems there is something more to it than meets the eye,” a senior advocate told this newspaper.
Ms Barno’s journey to India “via Nepal” is still shrouded in mystery. While the police wrapped up the investigation in respect to her passage to India, describing it as mere “trespassing,” her narratives on her journey to Bhopal sounded baffling.
According to her counsel, she visited Nepal with some friends and was then brought to India after being drugged.
The police record said Barno was arrested on December 9, 2015 at Misrod in Bhopal on charges of violation of the Foreigner’s Act.
Her companion, one Vikas Sarkar who took her to Misrod police station, in his statement before the police said he met her on December 3, 2015.
“Barno wanted my help for visa. I accompanied her to Bhopal on December 6 and provided her with shelter at a friend’s place in Jatkhedi. She had remained busy in visa proceedings in the SP office for two days — December 6 and 7. The SP office referred her to the district special branch which in turn referred her to the Misrod police. I accompanied her to the Misrod police station where she was arrested,” Mr Sarkar, a resident of Delhi, said in his statement.
She was later remanded to judicial custody after being produced before the local court. She found it difficult to present her case properly due to absence of a translator.
Advocate Srivastava volunteered to fight her case on humanitarian ground. He found her pregnant when he met her in the jail but the prison staff was unaware about it. He filed a plea arguing urgency in hearing the case by the court, contending that she should be allowed to deliver her child in Uzbekistan or its embassy to ensure that her kid becomes a natural Uzbek national.
The court, however, dismissed the plea contending that it was beyond its jurisdiction. She delivered a baby girl at the Sultania Hospital’s prisoner ward on March 6.
