Indian mom given child custody, says dad made him lick boots

New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) An Indian woman, married to a Jordanian national, has been given the custody of their 15-year-old son by a Delhi court after she alleged that her husband was a tyrant, even forcing their child to lick his shoes whenever he stepped on them. Guardian Judge Gautam Manan entrusted boy's custody to his mother after she alleged abuse and exploitation by her Jordanian husband at Amman, where she had gone to live with him after completing her PhD at Delhi University. I have no reason to disbelieve petitioner's testimony. It has come on record that the minor is in company of her mother since his birth. The child is getting good education and has grown up well. The respondent (Jordanian) has not appeared in order to claim the custody of minor and this shows he is not interested to contest the claim of the petitioner, the court said, entrusting the boy's custody to his mother. The petitioner being the natural mother, is declared his (minor's) guardian, it added. Narrating her tales of woes, South Delhi resident Dr Madhulika Verma (name changed) told the court that she was married to Jordanian national Atif M Jalbneh in 1995. She said she knew him since 1988 when he had come to Delhi for his studies. She said she had converted to Islam before marriage and went to Jordan along with her husband, but returned here in January 1996 as her husband had to complete his PhD. The woman said she gave birth to her son here during their stay in Delhi after which her husband went back to Jordan in October 1996, asking her to join him later with sufficient money to set up house at Amman. She said she arranged USD 2000 and went to Jordan with her minor son in December 1996 but was subjected to severe physical and mental torture for not bringing enough money. She said her husband adopted a tyrannical attitude against her and her child, forcing him to clean his shoes by licking it whenever he stepped onto them. She said he even made her eat camel meat against her will. The woman said she subsequently came back to India in 1999 to pursue her PhD and went back to Jordan in March 2005 with all her jewellery and valuables to find a job there expecting that her marriage would eventually work out and her husband will have no complaints against her due to her earnings. But as Atif refused to mend his ways and change his attitude towards them, she said she had to return to India in September 2005 with help from her friends and the Indian embassy in Jordan, leaving behind all her belongings. She said she also filed a complaint at Lodhi Colony Police station and voluntarily re-embraced Hinduism with her son after returning home.