Mumbai: An Indian-origin Cypriot industrialist has filed an appeal with the United Nations seeking international intervention into the alleged illegal detention of his daughter in Uganda. The chairman of Oswal Group Pankaj Oswal has alleged that his daughter Vasundhara Oswal (26) has been illegally detained in the African nation and has been denied basic rights and access to family or legal representation.
Known for establishing the world’s largest ammonia plant in Australia, Pankaj Oswal has alleged that his daughter has been detained following by the Ugandan authorities due to “corporate and political manipulation.” According to Oswal, Vasundhara, who is the executive director of PRO Industries has been kept under detention without trial.
Oswal has alleged that the charges against her stem from a former employee who allegedly stole valuables and also took a loan of USD 200,000 with his family givind surety. He alleged that after his family refused to repay it as guarantors, they filed false allegations against Vasundhara in an attempt to escape their financial obligations. He claims that this individual had escaped from Uganda but was later apprehended in Tanzania with evidence of the theft but his daughter has been unjustly accused of kidnapping and attempt to murder.
Oswal has filed an urgent appeal to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and alleged that Vasundhara was detained on October 1, interrogated under degrading conditions, and held for over 90 hours without access to legal counsel, family, or basic rights. He alleged that even after the court ordered for her unconditional release, the police did not let her go and instead slapped inadmissible charges to prevent her from getting released on bail.
“After that they purposely switched a few prisons around making it difficult for her family to contact her, and even though she’s officially in remand, she’s been kept in a prison of convicted murderers and made to sleep amongst them, where she is scared for her life every second. She’s made to wear the prisoner uniform even though she’s not been convicted and no trial has ever been done. Till today, she’s not received her charge sheet or what charges she’s booked under or what evidence is against her,” said Oswal.
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After his daughter’s detention, Oswal also wrote an open letter to the president of Uganda asking for intervention and grant unconditional bail to Vasundhara. He claimed that he will pause the investment of USD 150 million in Extra-Neutral Alcohol plant being set-up in Uganda due to his current predicament.