British Iranian Charity Founder Facing Prison in India Claims She is a Victim of Local Corruption
Kodoom.com, Independent Aggregator of Persian news/Events: A British Iranian charity worker and philanthropist who moved to India to help poor and orphaned children is sentenced to one year in prison and paying 300,000 rupees on charges of manslaughter, but she claims she is a victim of entrapment staged by local Indian mafia. [UPDATE on March 25, 2017: An Appeals Court in India overruled the verdict and declared Kalbasi innocent]
Narges kalbasi Ashtari is called the Mother Teresa of India and all for good reasons. At 29, she was a mother to many orphans, abandoned and visually impaired children in India. Born in Isfahan, central Iran, Narges' parents moved to the UK when she was four. After losing both parents to incurable diseases, Narges decided to dedicate her life to serving orphans, who had suffered the very same fate as hers. At 21, Narges volunteered to work for orphanages in Sri Lanka and India. According to a report on change.org, with much difficulty, Narges was granted an employment visa through a local NGO called ASSIST (Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation).
In 2011, Narges established the Prishan Foundation in Rayagada, an orphanage home for girls in the Rayagada district in Odisha, which then led to the launch of another home for blind children in Mukundapur, all through the generosity of foreign donors. Narges named her organization in the honor of an orphaned blind girl she met in Sri Lanka.
In 2014, tragedy struck at a riverside picnic for staff, parents and children when a young girl vanished and was never found. Narges' was indicted on charges of manslaughter and her trial lasted for about two years while she was banned from leaving the country. Narges claims she has been wrongly accused as a victim of money extortion by local gangs and authorities. Corruption is known to be widespread in parts of India, as often portrayed in Bollywood and even Hollywood movies such as City of Joy and Slumdog Millionaire.
An online campaign has been launched calling on the Indian prime minister to intervene in Narges' case. Narges says: "I feel betrayed – I have spent years in this area and we have made a huge difference – this is how I have been repaid.. We have done real work but there are lots of bad people here and they take advantage. When they see somebody from the outside they just see money.. At least I have a voice to speak to the outside world, something a lot of people here don't have. If this can happen to a British national like me I cannot imagine what can happen to them...If people sign my petition it really helps. People see names from around the world and think 'she's not alone'. All I ask is that I get a fair trial."
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