Chand played dirty politics with me

Fiza Mohammed alias Anuradha Bali's whirlwind romance with Chander Mohan alias Chand Mohammed has been well documented. But here Fiza, as she wants to be called, speaks on the drama behind her 20-day marriage

Fiza Mohammed alias Anuradha Bali's whirlwind romance with Chanderu00a0 Mohan alias Chand Mohammed has been well documented. But here Fiza, as she wants to be called, speaks on the drama behind her 20-day marriage

Chander Mohan divorced her over the phoneu00a0 and two text messages. PIC/RAJEEV TYAGI

"Ms Anuradha Bali?"
"[Silence] I am still Fiza," she says tersely.

The dramatic tale of love and betrayal of Fiza Mohammed alias Anuradha Bali, the 37-year-old former assistant advocate-general of Haryana, and Chander Mohan alias Chand Mohammed, Haryana's former deputy chief minister, may be going a little cold, but she is not ready to give up the fight. Not yet.

After a whirlwind romance and an equally controversial marriage to Chander Mohan after the two converted to Islam, Fiza was as quickly scorned by her husband of 20 days, who immediately returned to his first wife and family. Fiza filed a police complaint against him. But the 43-year-old sitting MLA from Kalka was given a clean chit by the Haryana police on March 14. Her critics hailed that justice was done and the "other evil woman had been punished."

The all-rounder and class-topper from Punjab University is hurt, but not distraught. She is no longer the hysterical woman the world pitied after a failed suicide attempt not long ago.

"I don't fear for my life, but I will see that he (Chander Mohan) is punished for cheating me," she says with unnerving composure, adjusting the dark glasses to hide her expressive eyes.

You have been called a ruthless home-breaker, the other woman in a married man's life and even a gold-digger. Have you been able to overcome the hurt?
If you were in my shoes, would you have got over it? A broken heart hurts a lot. But I am trying to get over it. Right now, it's more important for me to get justice. He [Chander Mohan] cheated me and was unfaithful. I want to see him punished. Either I will file another police complaint or appeal in the court of law. I am weighing my options.

You want him behind bars?
I am not saying that I want Chand jailed. In fact, I can't pass any judgement on his fate. Let the law take its course.

But as a lawyer, what do you think will be the legal outcome?
I can't and I won't say what I want. But the Indian legal system doesn't generally accept a divorce sent by SMS or phone call. [Fiza had accused that Mohan had called her up to say 'talaq, talaq, talaq', to annul their marriage, and then sent her two separate SMSes stating that he had divorced her through the telephonic conversation].

Are you saying that legally you are still married to him? Or is it your love for him that makes you think so?
I am not sure. He called me on my mobile phone from Scotland or maybe London and said that he was divorcing me. But when some of my friends dialled the number, a voice at the other end said there was no Chander Mohan at the other end. My lawyer friends and even Muslim Law Board members have told me that this divorce is unacceptable. If he thinks I am at fault, why doesn't he say that to me on my face? Why is he hiding?

You avoided my second question. Do you still love him?
Love is a very pious bond. This wasn't love. True love doesn't fade away in 20 days. Chand's only intention was sexual gratification. When he realised that he wouldn't be able to bed me otherwise, he started wooing me for marriage. My mistake was that I innocently believed Chand's expressions of love and marriage proposals. Usne mujhe ek jinda laash bana diya hain (He turned me into the living dead).

I had given my husband enough time to return and explain why the undying love he had proclaimed to me faded in just a few days.

What if he comes back to you?
I have given him enough time. He has hurt my self-respect. I am not proud, but I will not forgive him for insulting me. The police have given him a clean chit too easily. [Mohan was declared not guilty by the Mohali police against Fiza's criminal complaint accusing him of rape, cheating, hurting religious sentiments, defamation and criminal intimidation.] How can they declare him not guilty on the basis of a fax he has sent? But I will not let him slip through so easily.

The Bhajan Lal family wields considerable power in Haryana. Was the police unduly influenced?
It's true that people are scared of the family. Even Chander was afraid of his father Bhajan Lal and brother Kuldeep Bishnoi. But he proved to be a politician's son. He played dirty politics with me before marriage and after it.

You have accused Kuldeep and Chander Mohan ofu00a0 threatening you. Aren't you scared of taking them on?
He called me and said, 'wait and see what my family and I do to you after the forthcoming elections'. I know not many women in India have survived after raising their voices against politicians. But I don't fear for my life. Death is the worst that can happen.

How has your family reacted to your conversion to Islam, your marriage and now this separation?
My fatheru00a0 taught me never to bow to adversities. But when Mohan proposed to me and insisted I get married to him, my father suffered a cardiac arrest.

Will you return to Hinduism or stay a Muslim?
I did not convert to Islam just to marry Chand. I intend to stay a Muslim.
You have also received offers from Bollywood...
Director Kamal Khan [of Deshdrohi fame] has offered me a role in his film. Some film producers too have shown interest in making movies on my story. But right now I am concentrating only on my case.