A woman married to an Indian settled in Canada is missing barely a week after he sponsored her arrival.
Burinder Manget, 31, married Harpreet Dhami in India a year ago, 10 days after their wedding was arranged by a relative, according to a report published in the Province.
"I was just shocked, confused," Manget said, adding, "I thought maybe she was playing a joke."
After the wedding, Manget stayed in India for three weeks before returning to Canada to start the process of sponsoring his wife to become a Canadian resident.
During their time apart, Manget called Harpreet regularly and sent money monthly. "She was really happy and I was happy," Manget said.
Harpreet's visa was approved in May and she arrived in Vancouver June 14.
But a week after her arrival, on June 21, Harpreet disappeared. Her passport, gold jewelry and a few hundred dollars were missing.
Manget and his mother called Harpreet's mother in India and family in Toronto, but no one knew where she was.
Manget called Coquitlam RCMP, who investigated and released a missing person notice to media the same day.
That night, Harpreet called and spoke to Manget's mother. She allegedly told her that she was fine and was not coming home before hanging up.
On June 22, after seeing herself on the news, Harpreet called Delta police to let them know she was fine.
Constable Brenda Gresiuk, spokeswoman for the Coquitlam RCMP, said investigators spoke with Harpreet and were satisfied that there was no threat to her safety.
"We've concluded our investigation," Gresiuk said.
"This is not a suspicious circumstance." An uncle in Toronto, who refused to give his name, said he hasn't heard from Harpreet and has no idea where she is staying.
"Sponsorship is a legally binding commitment and it can't be cancelled, regardless of whether a relationship breaks down or not," said Shakila Bezeau of Citizenship and Immigration.
"An individual who sponsors someone is pretty well obligated for three years' support for that person." Manget said that since his wife left, he's heard many similar stories.
Palwinder Gill of the Canadian Fraud Marriage Victims Society said there are many abandoned grooms. "This is not a one-sided thing," Gill said. "It has always happened."
Gill said men feel ashamed when their wives leave them, and will not speak out. "They don't talk about it because they think it's a shame," he said. "It's a cultural thing."
He said those who flout the law should be punished.
People proven to have married under false pretenses "should be charged as criminals because they enter Canada by fraud. It is a crime."
