A non-resident Indian doctor has agreed to pay Rs 40 lakh as alimony to his wife, from whom he had separated just a week after marriage six years ago.
Dipak Sharma of New Hampshire in the US has paid Rs 30 lakh to his wife Vinita for withdrawing criminal charges she brought against him and his sister and will pay another Rs 10 lakh as a divorce settlement.
Sharma, a paediatrician, was married to Vinita from the New Alipore area in Kolkata in 2001 but relations between them soured within a week following serious differences.
He left for the US just eight days after the wedding and allegedly took with him Rs 10 lakh in valuables.
After attempts at a patch-up failed, Vinita filed a police complaint in 2004 under Section 498A (dowry-related torture) of the Indian Penal Code against Sharma and his sister Sunita, who had arranged the marriage.
Learning about this, Sharma gave power of attorney to Sunita, who filed a divorce suit in a court in Delhi.
The West Bengal Women's Commission, which was approached by Vinita, moved the Delhi court and had the case transferred to Kolkata.
The West Bengal Police arrested Sunita from her residence on January 25 on the basis of a police complaint.
Following her arrest, Sharma rushed back to India and negotiated a settlement with Vinita.
After getting a bankers' cheque for Rs 30 lakh on Tuesday, Vinita approached Justice S K Gupta of Calcutta High Court through the Commission's lawyer Bharati Mutsuddi to quash the case against Sharma in a court in Alipore.