My husband whipped me with eight canes daily for two-and-half months'

Mangalore, July 24: A 26-year-old woman from Katipalla has accused her estranged husband of foisting a false case against her and conspiring to kill her.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday Shameera, a resident of fourth block, Katipalla, also accused Aboobaker, her estranged husband, of marrying another woman six months ago without her consent. She said Aboobaker had not divorced her yet.

Flanked by her mother Naseema, the young housewife told the reporters that the one-sided coverage by a section of the media on the basis of certain claims by Aboobaker had tarnished her image, besides causing immense trauma to her family members, including her two young daughters.

“My daughter refuses to go to school saying that she would have to answer unsavoury questions. My life is in shambles now. Aboobaker is conspiring to finish me. I am not able to come out and move around freely. Please give me and my family the necessary protection,” she pleaded. "He has also warned of attacking her with acid," added mother Naseema.

Clarification

Responding to the allegations that she had been making merry with her 'boyfriends' when her husband was away in Saudi Arabia and had siphoned off over Rs. 70 lakh sent to her over the last seven years that he had been working in the Gulf, Ms Shameera said, the statements of the ICICI bank account for the last seven years she has been operating shows a credit of only Rs. 5,80,000. This money was spent on repair of the house, and to buy household items. “How can a man earning only Rs. 12,000 send Rs. 70 lakh over the last seven years? He has also gone on record saying that he had been sending the money through hawala. Even if we are to believe that he has sent money through hawala, isn't that a crime. Why the police are not taking any action against him?” she said.

Dismissing allegations of extra-marital affairs, Shameera accused her husband of leaking 'family pictures' to the media. “It is true that I had been to Wonder la in Bangalore along with my mother, brother, my sister in law. We were in a group of 13 members. And this trip was conducted with the prior permission of my husband. I had shot a few pictures and video during the trip on my handicam. Now, by showing selectively the clips, he is defaming me. He is also trying to blackmail me,” she said.

Blue film threat

She also claimed that she was also in possession of an audio clip, where during a conversation with one of her friends, Aboobaker is threatening to release a blue film with her featuring in it. “He had tried to push me to prostitution when I had gone to Saudi Arabia with him on a short stay. I did not budge. Then he sent me home. I told my mother about the incident. He apologized and said he would not repeat the mistake,” Shameera claimed.

She also claimed that her estranged husband had siphoned off the 100 pawn gold ornaments her parents had given her during the marriage. “In addition he had also demanded Rs. 3 lakh as dowry. He used to harass me whenever he came down from the Gulf for money. I had to make a loan of Rs. 6 lakh to meet his demand. When I could not repay the loan I had to sell off my mother's residential property for Rs. 15.6 lakh. I bought gold ornaments from the excess money,” she said.

'We're thrown out'

Shameera also accused her husband of throwing her and her mother out of their house. “We filed a complaint with the Moodbidri police station. I left for Bangalore to stay with my relatives. He again approached me promising to work out a compromise formula. When I returned home, I was locked inside a room and whipped with eight canes every day. He also locked up my mother, father and brother in a room. He also forced me to sign on two blank cheques. After two months of continuous torture, my mother somehow managed to escape and also got us out of the hell,” she said.

Shameera also accused Kabeer, Lathif, Hasan Monu and Ahmed Bava of conniving with Aboobaker. She also claimed that she had made good the loan borrowed from Kannangar Haider. “But he has not returned the cheque and agreement. He is now using those documents to threaten me,” she claimed. She also accused her estranged husband of keeping her and her two children's documents like passport, driving license, birth certificate, school certificate, LIC bond papers, pan card etc.

She criticized the police for letting Aboobaker off on bail on the complaint filed by her on January 2, 2012. “I was shocked to know that a complaint has already been filed against me by Aboobaker when I went to police station to lodge a complaint against him. Police have not bothered to take any action against him,” she said. When asked if she would write to the Women's Commission, she said, she was exploring all possibilities to seek justice.

“I am now looking for a competent lawyer. I want the media not to jump the gun without verifying the facts. Some television channels did not bother to cross verify the facts while showing the Wonder la pictures leaked by Aboobaker. I want your support in this fight,” she said. When asked why she did not bring all this issues up when she came on air for nearly three hours on various channels including Suvarna News and Public TV, she said, her sole aim was to tell the viewers that she had not eloped with anyone. “I had to prove that I did not run away with my boyfriend as claimed by him,” she said.

Drama

A mini drama ensued after she ended her press conference, with a posse of policemen standing guard right in front of the Press Club. The two women and a male member then left the venue in a car, which was followed by a police van. Meanwhile, a white Maruthi Ritz parked a few yards from the venue sparked curiosity of the media persons. Some claimed that a few people from Aboobaker's side had arrived in the car to prevent her from attending the press meet. The car left in the opposite direction immediately after the car carrying Sameena and Naseema drove towards Ladyhill Circle.