Accused of theft, Iranian couple gets acquitted but struggles to move on

NEWDELHI:SALEH Zarini, 36, and his wife Zahra Bolhassini had come to India in September last year to buy furniture, bags and handicrafts for their three showrooms in Karaj, the capital of Alborz province in Iran. The couple had planned to return home much before January 2019 when their 10-year-old was scheduled for surgery for getting a tumour removed from his head.

But on November 13, an argument with a shopkeeper in central Delhi’s Sadar market over the price of a bag landed the couple in jail over allegations of theft among others. It was after a legal battle that spanned over nearly a year that the couple was acquitted of all the charges by a city court on September 7 and was allowed to go back home.

In his complaint to the police, the shopkeeper had alleged that the couple blinded him temporarily by blowing some smoke in his face and fled with cash and valuables,. The couple was booked theft and for causing hurt by means of poison.

While acquitting them, the court said in its judgement that “no recovery of an intoxicating substance or stolen money was effected from the possession of accused persons and that there is no evidence that the money was disposed of by the accused persons”. The court also said the investigating officer “took the complaint as gospel truth and in the considered opinion of this court did not do fair investigation in the present case.”

As they make preparations to return to Iran, the couple says they still get nightmares from the nights they spent in jail. They said all their money was exhausted in fighting the legal battle and now their son’s delayed medical treatment seems impossible now.

“I spent over 65 days in Tihar jail. My wife was lodged in Mandoli jail for 26 days. The prisoners’ behaviour towards me was a very bad experience. It was the worst time of life,” Zarini said. “We came to India to strengthen our business. But as the year-long drama unfolded with things we had never expected, all we have been left with is our tarnished image, heavy losses in business, dried up funds and nightmares of the horror we experienced in jail. My son’s surgery planned in January could not be performed as none of his parent was present there to give consent for it. The surgery costs around ₹ 50,000.”

Recalling how they ended up in jail, 36-year-old Zahra said she came to India in August 2018. After checking the quality and prices of goods in the capital she called her husband and they rented a room in Bhogal. Their son stayed home in Iran with his grandparents.

“On November 13, we had gone to the Sadar market to buy some goods. Four days later, when went to the market again , three men —including the owner of a shop we had visited the first time—approached us and picked a fight with my husband. They thrashed him and held us responsible for a theft that took place in his shop on November 13,” she said. Zahra said it was only after the intervention of locals that the police was called and all of them were taken to Nabi Karim police station. The next day, a case of theft was registered against the couple and they were sent to jail.

The couple’s counsel Karan Pal Singh said that the chargesheet in the case was filed by the police on December 10, 2018.

“The accusations of blowing smoke and stealing money fell flat as in the chargesheet police could not show any recovery from the couple or establish their involvement in theft. While Zahra Bolhassini was bailed out the same day, her husband got bail on January 19. On September 7, the couple was acquitted by a Tis Hazari court. Now we need permission from the FRRO office and police’s character certificate for them to fly back home,” Singh said.