http://www.indianexpress.com/news/deserted-by-husband-just-after-marriage-gujarat-girl-clears-top-upsc-exam/1111373/0
Syed Khalique Ahmed : Ahmedabad, Sat May 04 2013,
08:20 hrs
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Barely 15 days after her marriage
five years ago, she was deserted by her NRI husband, allegedly because her
parents could not meet the dowry demand because of their poor financial
condition. Later, she was thrown out by her in-laws.
On Friday, it was a dream coming
true for Komal Pravinbhai Ganatra when she learnt she had secured 591 rank in
the Union Public Service Commission examination for civil services.
Komal, who is a primary school
teacher in a remote village of Bhavnagar district, expects to join Indian
Revenue Service (IRS). She is among the 11 candidates from Gujarat who have
cleared the civil services examination this year.
Daughter of a retired primary school
teacher at Savarkundla in Amreli district, Komal is now determined to fight a
legal battle with her NRI husband, Shailesh Popat, who is settled in New
Zealand. She says they could not seek justice earlier because of the weak
financial condition of her family and out of fear that litigation would affect
her preparations for the top competitive exam. "I will definitely initiate
legal action against my husband and in-laws now for what they did with me just
because I came from a poor family and could not meet their financial
demands," she says.Komal does not even have the address or contact number
of Shailesh or the kind of job he has in New Zealand. "Shailesh never gave
me his address or contact number. He is out of touch ever since he deserted me
soon after our marriage five years ago," she says, adding he has also not
divorced her.
While Shailesh did his M.Sc
(chemistry) from a college in Rajkot, Komal holds a diploma in chemical
engineering from Rajkot Government Polytechnic and a BA degree through
correspondence from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University. She also has a
primary teachers training certificate from a college in Savarkundla.
Komal says she began dreaming of
joining the elite civil services after her husband deserted her. In 2008, she
joined Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA) in Ahmedabad
that trains students for UPSC exams. She cleared the exam in the fourth attempt
in general category. She had opted for history and Gujarati literature as two
optional subjects in the mains and preferred Gujarati language for interview.
Of the 11 candidates from Gujarat
who cleared UPSC exams this year, five are from SC category, three from general
and three from SEBC, also known as OBC. No ST candidate from Gujarat has
cleared the exam this year.
Two of them, both engineering
students, had also completed their MBA from Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad
(IIM-A).
Kiran K Chatrapati, who did his BE
(instrumentation and control) from LD college of Engineering in Ahmedabad and
is working as an administrative officer (technical) with the National Insurance
Company Limited, gave full credit to his wife for the support. He said he
studied for four to five hours daily.
Assistant Municipal Commissioner in
Ahmedabad Dharmendra Herm has also cleared the exams.
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