Bhubaneswar, Dec. 30: The Centre has sought a report from the state government about a case relating to Iranian-origin British charity worker Narges K. Ashtari, who has been convicted by a local court in Rayagada for negligence leading to death of a tribal child in 2014.
The 28-year-old woman is out on bail.
Narges, who is staying at the Iranian consulate in Hyderabad, has taken to social media and approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif for help.
Union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday morning tweeted: "I have asked for a report from Government of Odisha reg the case of Narges K Ashtari. @BorisJohnson @JZarif @skumarifs89."
"We will send a report to the Union government on the matter soon," special secretary of the state home department Lalit Das said today.
Yesterday, Narges wrote on her Facebook page: "Dr Zarif AND Sushma Swaraj now both involved in my case! THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR NOT FORGETTING ABOUT ME!"
The Iranian woman runs an orphanage at Mukundpur village in Rayagada district through her NGO Prishan Foundation. Three years ago, she had filed a petition on www.change.org, accusing a local NGO of grabbing one of her two orphanages in Rayagada using fraudulent means. The petition was sent to the Prime Minister and the home minister. Later, the owner of the NGO was jailed for fraud.
The case in which Narges was convicted by a local court in Rayagada on December 5 pertains to drowning of a tribal child during a picnic. As many as 30 tribal children belonging to the orphanage run by Prishan Foundation had gone out on a sightseeing tour to the hanging bridge over the Nagavali river in the district on November 3, 2014.
A boy called Asim drowned while taking bath in the river. Later, his parents lodged a complaint at Rayagada police station against Narges, accusing her of neglect leading to the child's death, on the basis of which a criminal case was registered by the police. On December 5, sub-divisional judicial magistrate Sabita Nayak convicted Narges on charge of negligence leading to the boy's death and awarded imprisonment for a period of one year and compensation of Rs 3 lakh to the deceased boy's parents.
Narges was later granted interim bail and she is in a process of filing an appeal in the higher court.
On December 13, Narges had said in her Facebook post: "I am on bail until January 5th and must appeal to the Sessions court any day before that...my lawyers are currently preparing the appeal. I am safe inside the Iranian consulate and just so overwhelmed to see how much my story and what has happened to me has affected you. Thank you for showing Odisha that I am not alone."
In the same post, she expressed the pain of being away from the children she had been taking care of at her orphanage. "I don't know what to do other than to fight and to rely on you all to share my story with the world," she added.
Rayagada district collector Guha Punam Tapas Kumar declined to comment on the issue as it is sub judice. "If somebody comes to the country and commits any crime, he or she has to obey the law of the land, Let's wait for justice," she told The Telegraph.
