Mumbai, Aug 13 (IANS): Actress Dalljiet Kaur on Tuesday has taken a dig at her ex-husband Nikhil Patel, who has accused her of 'non-consensual cyber bullying' and 'continued media harassment', calling him a 'shame on humanity'.
The 'Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?' fame actress had recently filed an FIR with the Mumbai Police's Agripada Police Station against her husband, Nikhil alleging him of cruelty and cheating. She had also shared a post showing Nikhil at Mumbai airport with his girlfriend, Safeena Nazar.
In a long note, Nikhil has responded to Dalljiet's allegations saying, "Dalljiet and I met in Dubai in 2022, and then had our Hindu ceremony in March of 2023 in Mumbai, India. Right after the ceremony, we moved to Nairobi, Kenya where I work and reside as a British Expat. We lived in Kenya together as a family until January 2024 when she returned to India with Jaydon. Dalljiet was very insistent on moving to Kenya and starting a new life there with my daughter and I. She understood the fact that I was still not legally divorced from my first marriage. In fact my legal counsel at the time, sent Dalljiet's parents a letter clearly stating this fact, to which they gave their blessing to the ceremony. This is why the Hindu ceremony was held in a banquet hall rather than a Gurdwara or a Mandir, and was purely a non-legally binding celebration for our respective family & friends, and for the sole purpose of Dalljiet being able to move to Kenya. My final divorce did not arrive until January of this year, by which time Dalljiet had already left Kenya for good. This is something that Dalljiet is deliberately omitting in her chosen narrative; she was in no way misled about my status as a still married man, and the fact that our celebration in India was not in any way meant to be, nor was it a 'legal' marriage ceremony."
He went on to say, "For Daljiet to pretend that we entered a legal union is deliberately deceptive and meant solely for purposes of supporting her victim self-portrayal. However, all the legal evidence, which is readily available, shows that this was purely a celebration of two cultures and religions coming together. I will admit that at the time, we both wanted to later legalise our relationship, once my divorce came through. After Dalljiet moved to Kenya, I devoted significant energy, time, and resources to assist her in establishing her business and profile."
"As I do take responsibility for my own actions in this scenario, it is important that Dalljiet recognise that labelling me a 'cheater' and claiming that I had 'extra marital affairs' is hypocritical given her level of comfort in moving to Kenya to live with me knowing full well that I was still legally married. In the past eight months since Dalljiet and Jaydon left Kenya, I have found myself subjected to intense scrutiny on social media. For several weeks after Dalljiet left Kenya, I continued to keep in touch with her and we communicated on a daily basis, where I was verbally abused several times on video and phone calls in the middle of the night," Nikhil said in his statement.
He said: "This is heartbreaking as I feel responsible for this continuous, non-consensual cyber bullying of an innocent young person. I am urging Dalljiet to leave my children alone. In addition to the above, Dalljiet's continued media harassment and bullying has jeopardised and disrupted the careers and family lives of several women globally who happen to be friends or acquaintances of mine. On August 2nd, my birthday, Dalljiet filed an FIR against me, repeating the same tactic she used against her ex-husband. Interestingly, in the FIR, she falsely claims that I am an NRI, despite the fact that I have never been a Non-Resident Indian. I am, and always have been, a British citizen."
"This pattern of behaviour should not continue to disrupt the lives of others. It is my hope that giving this comprehensive account of events might finally bring this unnecessary media drama to a close. I sincerely wish Dalljiet and Jaydon the very best as they move on with their lives. I hope that Dalljiet will finally let go of the bitterness and anger that fuels this incessant public media retribution, and find her own true inner healing and peace. Our story ended and the curtain fell back in January 2024," the statement read.
Responding to the same, Dalljiet took to Instagram Stories, and penned a long note, which read as: "You had three days in India after knowing about the FIR. Which you have just admitted you knew about. If the rubbish you have printed out right now was true, you would have gone to the police station and told your side to them instead of sending it out to your PR. After running away from India while the police kept telling you to visit them again and again. You PR stories are not going to give me justice and a person like you deserves to be punished."
The 41-year-old actress further said: “It's like you are so not done wanting more and more publicity, my god. Calling our wedding an event is shameful. In India it's called MARRIAGE, and yes, NRI was written in Marathi by the cop. It's no big deal that a criminal is an NRI or a British citizen! Why did you flee from my country? Is all this true that you are sending for the press? You should have sat in front of the cops eye to eye and told this rubbish story you have made up. And see if they would have believed it.”
The 'Kaala Teeka' actress said: "I came to India and spoke about work because I don't want to talk about family problems, because I had hope in you taking at least one flight to India to fix this. I have given nothing but love to Aari, and I will love her till the very end of my life. What you did with Jaydon is a story untold but not for long. I was very happy to be married and to start a life there with you."
"You are such a shame on humanity Nikhil. You are shame on even using your card as a father. Go for therapy, meditate, and believe in the power of God. And I will fight for justice with the Indian judiciary to give me justice from a publicity hungry man like you who would go to the PR with the lies instead of going to the police station like a true man," she concluded.
Dalljiet and Nikhil had tied the knot on March 18, 2023. The duo had separated on May 25, 2024
Dalljiet was formerly married to Shalin Bhanot, her co-star in 'Kulvadhu', whom she married in 2009. Their son, Jaydon, was born in 2014.The couple filed for divorce in 2015 after Dalljiet accused Shalin of domestic abuse.