India says unable to help British aid worker

New Delhi: India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has expressed inability in helping a British woman charity worker of Iranian origin who has been sentenced to one year imprisonment by a court in the eastern Indian state of Odisha on charges of causing death of a tribal child due to 'negligence'.

Swaraj had sought a report from Odisha government on the case involving 28-year-old Narges K Ashtari.

Narges who moved to India to build an orphanage claims she has been trapped there for two years after being accused of a local child's manslaughter.

28 old Narges, who grew up and went to school in Exeter, Devon after her both parents died, set up the Prishan Foundation in 2010 with the hope of 'improving the lives of orphans and abandoned children around the world'.

An online petition by social activists has recently sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in seeking justice for Narges Ashtari saying she has dedicated her life in serving orphan and abandoned children around the world.

Narges's both parents died when she was a child and when she met an orphaned baby boy in Sri Lanka named Prishan he inspired her to help others. The Prishan Foundation has since built an orphanage for girls and a home for blind children in Odisha.

However, after the disappearance of a child in 2014, feared drowned, she has become embroiled in a criminal case and now faces a possible jail term if convicted.

Tragedy struck at a riverside picnic for staff, parents and children, where the young girl vanished.

Witnesses have been giving evidence about her disappearance including the child's mother, who testified on September 29. Narges insists she has been targeted by vengeful locals intent on destroying her work or extorting money.

She believes she has been wrongly accused and is the victim of corruption, which is endemic in parts of India.

She has now issued a desperate plea to her old friends and colleagues to support her through her ordeal amid fears she could be jailed, according to Daily Mail.

An online campaign was launched calling on the Prime Minister Modi to intervene in her case, which has been rumbling on for two years.

Frightened Narges Ashtari fears she will not get a fair trial and is calling on people to support her by adding their names to the online petition.

She said she has been denied permission to leave the country until the legal action has concluded.

She said: 'I feel betrayed - I have spent years in this area and we have made a huge difference - this is how I have been repaid.

'There is only so much I can put up with - I feel like going somewhere else but this just seems to be dragging on. There have been just three hearings so far.'

Minister Swaraj said she cannot help the woman due to the court order.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had during his India visit in December said that Iran will use all its capacity to secure Narges Ashtari's release.

"I have received the report from Government of Odisha. The trial court has convicted Narges K Ashtari to one year imprisonment and Rs 3,00,000/- fine.

"She has filed an appeal before Sessions Court which is pending. The appellate court has released her on bail pending appeal. This is a judicial order and the matter is sub judice. Therefore, I am unable to help in this case @BorisJohnson @JZarif," Swaraj said in a series of tweets.

She also tagged Zarif as well as British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson in her tweets. 

Earlier this week, the Iranian Foreign Minister had said "The Foreign Ministry considers it its duty to protect Iranian nationals residing abroad, including students, elites and businessmen... and will use all its capacity to support them and restore their rights."

He said the Iranian Foreign Ministry and Iran's embassy in New Delhi are following up on her case though diplomatic, consular and legal channels.