Gudiya146;s trauma is over, forever

She was told her husband was dead, they got her married again. Then, when she was pregnant, her first husband returned from a Pakistani jail...

She was told her husband was dead, they got her married again. Then, when she was pregnant, her first husband returned from a Pakistani jail. After a 8216;live8217; TV panchayat, they sent her back to him. A month later, she delivered a still-born baby. Today, the curtains finally came down on Gudiya8217;s trauma. With her death. She was 25.

Admitted to the Army Research and Referral hospital in New Delhi on December 13, following post-pregnancy complications, Gudiya succumbed to infection. Doctors said she had been ill since the August 30 delivery, due to a low haemoglobin count.

8216;8216;She was anaemic, her kidneys failed. She underwent dialysis, too. But she had developed infections and she died here in the afternoon,8217;8217; said a hospital spokesperson.

Her body was later taken to her soldier husband Mohammed Arif8217;s village, Mandoli, 30 km from Meerut, where her entire family had gathered.

8216;8216;She complained of increasing pain around 11 am and soon became unconscious,8217;8217; Arif told The Indian Express in Mandoli, adding that she would be buried at 9.30 am tomorrow.

Gudiya first hit the headlines last September when Arif, a Sapper, was returned by Pakistan, following sustained diplomatic dialogue and a campaign in The Indian Express. He had been reported missing during the Kargil conflict in 1999.

Meanwhile, told that Arif was presumed dead, Gudiya8217;s parents in Noida had got her married in 2003 to a relative, Taufiq, from Pataudi village, near Gurgaon. When Arif returned, she was eight months pregnant.

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What came after was a bizarre family drama, played out under full media glare. A TV channel organised a 8216;live8217; panchayat, including Arif, Gudiya, her family and religious leaders. And before the show wound up, she was asked by the anchor to choose between Arif and Taufiq.

Visibly rattled, Gudiya opted for Arif, delivered a still-born child one month later. Says her Mandoli neighbour, Rashid Ahmad: 8216;8216;There were so many problems in her life. And now, she8217;s gone when it seemed that she finally had a chance to enjoy life.8217;8217;