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Sikh woman goes to Pak as pilgrim, goes missing: First a nikahnama, then crime record, now a video emerges
Sarabjit had been living in Amanipur with her two sons, while her husband Karnail Singh, who divorced her, has lived in England for nearly 15 years.
A 48-year-old Sikh woman put India's Punjab Police in a tizzy when she went missing in Pakistan while travelling as part of a pilgrimage group for Guru Nanak Dev’s 556th birth anniversary. She is now reported to have converted to Islam after marrying a man in Sheikhupura district, around 50 km from Lahore.
Police in Lahore in Pakistan's Punjab province told news agency PTI on Saturday that Sarabjit Kaur, now known as Noor Hussain, “solemnised nikah” with 43-year-old Nasir Hussain on November 5, just a day after entering Pakistan with a 1,931-member Sikh jatha (pilgrim group). “She declared that she converted to Islam and married out of free will,” a senior police officer in Lahore told the agency.
“The couple has gone into hiding and police are searching for them,” he added.
An 18-second video of Sarabjit Kaur and Nasir Hussain’s Nikah was also circulated mainly in the Pakistani media.
In the video, Sarabjit Kaur can be seen saying she is willingly converting to Islam. “I love Nasir and have known him for the past nine years. I am currently divorced and willingly marrying him,” she said.
However, HT couldn’t independently verify the veracity of the video clip.
What police in India say on her ‘new identity’
Authorities in Indian Punjab said a nikahnama widely circulated on social media on Friday lists her new identity and address: Haal Maukeen village of Sheikhupura. Her disappearance came to light on November 13, when the group, led by Akal Takht jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, returned to India, and she was found missing.
According to investigators, Sarabjit had been living in Amanipur with her two sons, while her husband, Karnail Singh, who divorced her, has lived in England for nearly 15 years.
Agencies scramble for answers
The sudden turn of events has left the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and central intelligence agencies on alert. Officials are trying to establish contact with Sarabjit to understand the circumstances of her decision.
Kapurthala senior superintendent of police Gaurav Toora said the force is coordinating with central agencies “on this serious issue”. He added that officers have visited her village, Amanipur in Sultanpur Lodhi, and met her sons “to get information about her intention to visit Pakistan”.
A senior official said both the Punjab Police and central agencies are now examining whether Sarabjit had previously travelled to Pakistan through other pilgrim routes, including the Kartarpur Corridor.
Meanwhile, SGPC secretary Partap Singh stated that the committee only recommended the names of the pilgrims, and it is the sole responsibility of the Government of India and central agencies to comply with the police verification requirements.
‘Hurt Sikh sentiments’
“It is a failure of the agencies that they failed to sense that Sarabjit was already in contact with a Pakistani national and her visit to the neighbouring country was pre-planned,” he said.
He added that the SGPC strongly condemned the woman’s action and came to know about her conversion to Islam and Nikah through media reports.
“Sarabjit has hurt the religious sentiments of the Sikh community and brought bad name to the whole process of pilgrimage,” he said.
Sarabjit had criminal history
Police say she has a criminal record, with three cheating and fraud cases registered against her in Bathinda and Kapurthala.
“Her passport carries the permanent address of Malout in Muktsar district and mentions her father’s name. Surprisingly, she didn’t mention her citizenship and passport number in the immigration form submitted at the time of applying for a Pakistan visa,” an official said.
Both her sons also face 10 FIRs between them for fraud, assault and cheating. Villagers and family members, however, are reportedly refusing to speak on the matter.
