Lahore: An Indian Sikh woman who went missing during a pilgrimage to Pakistan has allegedly converted to Islam and married a local man, according to a document that surfaced days after her disappearance.
The woman, identified as Sarabjeet Kaur, 52, from Kapurthala in Punjab, had travelled to Pakistan on November 4 as part of a group of Sikh pilgrims visiting Pakistan to mark Guru Nanak Dev’s 555th Prakash Parv. The 10-day pilgrimage saw 1,992 Sikh pilgrims cross the Wagah-Attari border.
However, when the group returned to India on November 13, Kaur was missing, prompting immediate alerts from immigration officials and Punjab Police.
A purported nikahnama, written in Urdu, has now emerged. The document claims that Kaur converted to Islam, adopted the name Noor Hussain and married Nasir Hussain, a resident of Sheikhupura, located roughly 56 km from Lahore. The authenticity of the document has not been independently verified.
Kaur was previously married to Karnail Singh, who has lived in England for nearly three decades, NDTV reported. The couple has two sons. Her passport had been issued in Punjab’s Muktsar district and officials noted that her name did not appear in Pakistan’s exit records or India’s entry records.
Following her disappearance, the Immigration Department alerted Punjab Police, who have since prepared a preliminary report and shared it with other Indian agencies. Meanwhile, the Indian High Commission in Islamabad is coordinating with Pakistani authorities to seek clarity about her whereabouts, according to a report by news agency IANS, citing government sources.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex Sikh body, sends delegations of pilgrims annually to historical shrines in Pakistan, including Nankana Sahib. The government had permitted this year’s pilgrimage a fortnight after initially denying approval over security concerns.
Local sources have also pointed to irregularities in her travel documents. Her passport carries an address in Malout, Muktsar, and mentions her father’s name instead of her husband’s. She reportedly left her citizenship details and passport number blank on the immigration form when entering Pakistan.
Kapurthala police confirmed that Kaur has three past criminal cases, primarily related to cheating and fraud, registered against her, The Tribune reported.
Talwandi Chaudhrian SHO Nirmal Singh said that Kaur “went to pay obeisance at Nankana Sahib but did not return.” He noted that although the court matters related to her have concluded, her two sons, Lovejot Singh and Navjot Singh, are currently facing 10 criminal cases across Kapurthala, Sultanpur Lodhi and Kabirpur. Several of these cases are still under trial and both brothers are believed to be out on bail.