Woman posing as Dubai ruler’s daughter held

LUDHIANA - A 40-year-old woman, who posed as the daughter of Dubai’s ruler and tried to dupe the family of one of the 17 Indian youths on death row in the UAE, has been arrested in Punjab’s Ferozepur district, an official said Thursday.

Sarabjit Kaur, a resident of Mahianwala village near Zira town in Ferozepur district, was posing as the daughter of the ruler of Dubai.

“On July 10, a man posing as the son-in-law of Dubai’s ruler called Jaspreet Singh, whose brother Kuldeep Singh is lodged in Dubai jail. He told Jaspreet that the ruler’s daughter was on a Punjab visit and she could arrange for Kuldeep’s immediate release if they paid her Rs.14 lakh,” a police official said here Thursday.

Jaspreet contacted Avtar Singh Mulanpuri, senior vice-president of Lok Bhalai Party, which is fighting for the rights of Indians who are stranded abroad for the last many years.

Mulanpuri talked to the caller over the phone and struck a deal for Rs.600,000. They also informed the police.

“The man called them at Zira bus stand for the delivery of money and said the daughter of the ruler will herself accept the money,” Ludhiana (rural) Superintendent of Police H.S. Chahal told IANS.

“We laid a trap and arrested the woman when she was receiving the money Tuesday. Her face was covered with a black scarf. However, three male miscreants accompanying her managed to escape,” he added.

“Court has sent Sarabjit in police remand. During interrogation, she told police that earlier she had contacted the family of another youth on death row in the UAE. We are raiding various places to nab the remaining accused,” Chahal said.

Seventeen Indians — 16 from Punjab and one from Haryana — were sentenced to death by a Shariat court in Sharjah in March 2010. They were convicted of murdering a Pakistani man and injuring three others in January 2009 following a fight over illegal liquor.

The hearing in their case is slated Sep 1 in an appellate court at Sharjah in UAE.