Abandoned wives join hands to expose Akshya alias Ajay alias Amarjeet Singh alias AJ

India Post News Service

 NEW DELHI: Anuradha Jerath and Sheetal Ohri Kapoor have a lot in common besides the fact that they are both Delhiites, born into affluent families. What they share between them is an NRI husband - and therein lies a saga of betrayal, abuse, abandonment and trauma, which the two young women have been suffering over the last 10 years. Having combined forces today, these two victims of an Indian-American fraudster, are fighting for not only their legal rights as his abandoned wives, but also desperately seeking to get custody of their respective US-born kids who are currently in the possession of the husband.

In October 1997, Anuradha's parents had responded to a matrimonial ad in a leading Indian newspaper by one Akshya Kapoor (later found to be alias Ajay Kapoor alias Amarjeet Singh alias AJ) - an American citizen based in California -- who was seeking a tall, fair, slim Indian girl for himself as also for his brother.

Things moved fast and on Dec 13, 1997, Anuradha got married to Kapoor through Hindu ritual at Delhi's 5-star hotel the Vasant Continental. "Akshya convinced us that it was better for me to go the US on a tourist visa as it was quicker and said he would start my green card process once I was there," recounted Anuradha. "He also refused to get the marriage registered in India, promising to do so in the United States.

Although I suspected something was wrong, I had no idea the extent of what I would later find out." Shortly after the wedding, Anuradha discovered she was pregnant. And as had received her visa, she left for the US, along with her husband, in January 1998. Once in Fremont, California where Kapoors lived, Anuradha began discovering the vicious side to her husband. He began to systematically cut her off from being in contact with her family, friends, neighbors, while confining her to the house, slave-driving her and mentally and physically abusing her. "I was not allowed to answer phone calls, or the door bell or even pick up mail from the mailbox outside," Anuradha told India Post.

"If I did anything that was not to his approval, he would hit me. He would get drunk and become abusive and have forced sex. He would often threaten to kill me or have me deported." Anuradha soon discovered that her husband had a criminal record in California and that he had earlier been married to another girl in India. Kapoors also made no move to file for Anuradha's immigration. She was provided with no medical care through her advancing pregnancy and was forced to ask her parents to send her money.

"In April '98, my parents visited me and convinced my husband to get me a medical card and they also helped me to extend my tourist visa by six more months," said Anuradha. Meanwhile, Kapoors took away all of Anuradha's clothes, jewelry and more importantly her passport. After the birth of her daughter Alka, when Anuradha tried to leave for India, Kapoor allegedly tore up the existing visa page in her passport. In February 2003, Anuradha's second child Arti was born. And with that, Kapoor's behavior worsened, states Anuradha. "He was heavily into prescription drugs, alcohol and he used to hallucinate a lot."

Around that time, Kapoor got Anuradha a duplicate passport made from the Indian Embassy in San Francisco and packed her off to India with just the younger daughter in tow. He forbade her from taking the elder daughter, stating that he would bring her to India later. It was October 2003 that Anuradha came home to Delhi with her second daughter. "He demanded Rs. 20 lakh in cash or a house in his name from my parents in order to sponsor my immigration papers," she alleged. And in beginning 2005 he told her that he had already obtained a divorce - which, Anuradha alleges was obtained fraudulently as she never signed the papers.

He had also got custody of their first daughter. She tried to get persuade him to get her child to India or acknowledge his second child but he refused and said he had moved on with some other woman in his life. That was the last she had heard from him in April 2005. Exit Anuradha, Enter Sheetal It was June 2005, when Ajay Kapoor alias Akshya Kapoor responded to an ad on a popular matrimonial website, by Sheetal Ohri, an Indian working in the UK.

Within a month, the couple got married in London, according to Hindu customs. In August 2005, Sheetal left for the US on a tourist visa, along with her husband. Sheetal's story from here on is almost identical to that of Anuradha's. "I was smitten by his smooth talk and charming personality," Sheetal told India Post. "He was good looking and when we first met, I thought he would be every woman's dream husband."

Sheetal too got pregnant within a couple of months after the marriage, began enduring untold mental and physical abuse, was cut off from her family; her clothes, jewelry and passport were taken away and she was constantly threatened to be killed if she dared to complain to anyone. From an enterprising young woman, she was made into a house maid who was abused by husband mentally and physically, breaking her confidence level.

Through much cajoling, Sheetal managed to get Kapoor to register their marriage in California. She was six months pregnant at that time. In June 2006, she gave birth to a son, Amar. Strong motherly instincts goaded her to care for Anuradha's first daughter, Alka too. "Ajay told me that his first wife was not a good woman and that she had abandoned her own daughter and returned to India. Little did I know the truth at that time and so I took care of Alka like she was my own daughter," Sheetal said. Sheetal too was falsely promised by Ajay, that her immigration papers would be filed. She too had to go through much of her pregnancy without medical help.

"When he finally did manage to get me medical insurance, I learnt that he had fraudulently applied for the insurance by using an ex-colleague's social security number and once the hospital found out in two months I was without any medical help until my baby was born," Sheetal said. Sheetal too endured a similar pattern of mental torture and abuse at the hands of Kapoor as did Anuradha. She too realized her husband was a prescription drug addict and a neurotic. She learnt too that she was his third wife. In May 2007, Kapoor brought both Sheetal and son Amar to India. But soon, returned to the US along with the son, leaving Sheetal behind.

The next time she saw him it was in London in August 2005 when he arrived there for 10 days as Sheetal had threatened to complain to US Consulate. He took away their son Amar without her consent, literally kidnapping him, and that was the last she saw of either her husband or son. She complained to the US Consulate, India, Washington Child Welfare and Abduction Unit and Indian Consulate, San Francisco and has been trying to get back her child since then. The legal fight Anuradha and Sheetal have, over the past several months, been running from pillar to post for justice.

 They have been petitioning the US Embassy in India and Indian Consulate in the US to be able to re-enter the United States, and get legal custody of their respective child. They have also been trying to get Indian American NGOs in the US to fight for their case. Sometime last year, Anuradha and Sheetal managed to track down each other. Having realized that both of them have been similarly duped, abused, victimized and separated from their offspring, they are trying to find strength and comfort in each other's support.

"The most frustrating part is that whoever we approached seemed to be helpless because Kapoor is an American citizen. He seems to be immune to Indian laws; and since we are in India, we are unable to have him prosecuted in the US," say Anuradha and Sheetal, adding that Kapoor gets away with his crimes because he is aware of his unique status. He has a state Criminal ID for various cases of soliciting prostitution, drugs and battery and domestic violence.

And he frequently changes residence in Bay Area from Fremont to Newark to Hayward to Union City. Last month, in a joint declaration to BS Prakash, Indian Consul General in San Francisco, CA, the two women urged for intervention. They have also approached the newly created cell in the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Government of India to help bring Kapoor to book, and gain custody of their children. "Only we know what we are going through being forcibly separated from our children," says Sheetal, choking on tears. "My son is 20-months old now and I am not even allowed to hear his voice over the phone."

"I fear for the safety of my daughter who is growing up in such hostile and unhealthy atmosphere in his house," says Anuradha. "I believe my daughter has been brain-washed to believe that her mother is a bad woman." "All we want is for Ajay to be convicted and or deported to India to face the law here. We want that he should never be able to marry again and ruin another woman's life, like he has ruined ours and our children's lives, depriving them of their mother's love and good upbringing," Sheetal reiterates.

Having dealt with their depression, both women have now decided to move on with their life even as they continue to fight for their children. Sheetal has gone back to work in the UK and Anuradha too has found herself a job in Delhi. And as for Kapoor, according to Sheetal, as recently as last month, he was found to have made contact with at least two more women in India in a bid to woo them into marriage.

The entire Kapoor family witnessed both these women and their children's lives getting ruined by their own son, Ajay Kapoor and are equally culpable in this cruelty. Both these mothers are requesting the public to come forward and help or inform about any other criminalities about this man or his family in confidence to: anushe.indiapost@yahoo.com and help them.