Relief as New Delhi ordeal comes to end

Nail-biting wait for wife’s return

A PIETERMARITZBURG man is looking forward to welcoming his wife — who was arrested in New Delhi after a bullet was found in her luggage — with a big hug and a kiss when she returns home this week.

On Friday, Spaga Lutchman, 66, waited with bated breath to hear the fate of his wife, Isra Devi Lutchman, 62. His prayers were answered when he was told she would be coming home.

“We have to pay a bond of R70 000 to the New Delhi court before she returns to South Africa. The finer details are being decided on in India. My son, Collin, and family friends are there to

We are relieved she is coming home and are doing our best to get her back as soon possible

support Isra,” he said.

Isra went on a religious pilgrimage to India. She was returning home on Wednesday last week when she was stopped at the New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport.

A single 9mm bullet was found in her luggage, said Lutchman.

“It has been nine days of hell for us. I spoke to Isra on Thursday night. She said the four nights she spent in [Rohini district] jail were terrible — she didn’t bath and was only given one slice of bread and a cup of tea for the day.

“She was released on bail last weekend and has been living in a hotel in New Delhi. She is very worried about her job and was hoping she comes home soon.”

Isra has worked as a nurse for 45 years — 25 of them at St Anne’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg. Lutchman said Isra travelled often and had been to India many times.

The couple were involved in charity work in Pietermaritzburg, he added.

Jessica Lutchman, their daughter-in-law — who is employed by the Department of Foreign Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal, said she was waiting to speak to their lawyer in India to make arrangements to have the money transferred.

“We are relieved she is coming home and are doing our best to get her back as soon as possible,” she said.