New Zealand police to record Indian woman’s statement over video on Dec 14 in cruelty case against husband
PTC Web Desk: New Zealand Police will record the statement of an Indian woman on December 14 through video conferencing. The woman, who is currently in India, has accused her New Zealand-based husband and mother-in-law of cruelty, physical assault, criminal intimidation and outraging her modesty.
The statement will be taken on Microsoft Teams. This was arranged after several rounds of emails between the woman and the New Zealand Police. She has also filed a complaint with the Delhi Police women’s cell against her husband and other in-laws, including her brothers-in-law, ANI reported.
The case is being seen as important because a foreign police agency has agreed to record a complainant’s statement on video while she stays in India. This could make things easier for women facing similar cross-border marriage disputes.
However, the Delhi Police turned down her request to record her statement through video conferencing. They said there was no court order allowing it.
Her lawyer, Advocate Arpit Batra, called the New Zealand Police’s decision a big step towards justice for victims of international matrimonial disputes. He said the authorities have told his client the statement will be recorded through a secure video call with proper safeguards. Further legal steps will follow once the statement is recorded and reviewed.
What the complaint says
According to the complaint, the woman married a New Zealand citizen on April 29, 2025, in a Hindu ceremony at Hotel Park Grand in Sector 43, Chandigarh. She alleged that even before the wedding, her husband and mother-in-law pushed her father to book the hotel of their choice, despite his financial difficulties.
She first lived at her matrimonial home in Sector 55, Mohali, and moved to Auckland on July 2, 2025. She returned to India on April 21, 2026.
The woman claims she faced constant physical and mental harassment. She said her husband often insulted her family for their financial condition and made nasty comments about her Indian background and looks.
She further alleged that he told her he regretted marrying an Indian woman, wanted children with a white woman and thought she was not fit to have healthy children. She also said he described her as someone brought into the marriage to take care of his mother.
The woman said the harassment from her husband and mother-in-law caused her severe mental stress and she underwent an abortion on August 25, 2025.
In November 2025, she said, she found messages on her husband’s laptop that suggested he was in touch with his former girlfriend and had recently met her.
The complaint also states that on April 10, 2026, during an argument about the alleged relationship, her husband became violent, shouted abuses and threw cold water on her three times.
In another serious allegation, she said that on April 16, around 1.30 am at their home in New Zealand, he threatened to get her father killed during an argument. She claims he said he had already spoken to a killer. She also accused him of abusing and threatening other members of her family.
These allegations are part of the complaint filed through advocate Batra. After the December 14 statement, New Zealand authorities are expected to examine it and take further legal action.
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- PTC NEWS
