Neelam Vir, 40, has a PhD degree in botany and works as a freelance writer in Toronto. Every week, she has to report to the police and the court has ordered her not to leave the country.
It all started when Vir, after delivering a gulab jamun mix to one of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's staff members, sent an e-mail directly to the Premier, asking if he has received the mix she sent with her 'love and affection'. In the e-mail sent on September 30, 2007, Vir told McGuinty, "If she (Premier's staff member Monica Masciantoniohe) didn't give it to you, I'll kill her'.
In a front-page report in the Toronto Star on Tuesday, Vir said her so-called threat was 'just slang'. She forgot that she was living in Canada, where not many people are aware of the usage of such slang.
Instead of an answer from the Premier, she found police officers knocking at her door. They reportedly took away her laptop, cell phone, camera, etc and she was taken to the police station for questioning.
It took her husband Baljinder, a PhD holder in entomology, six hours to get his wife released on bail.
While she was prevented from establishing any contact with the Ontario Premier or his staff, Toronto Star says that Vir wrote another e-mail to McGuinty, explaining the cultural meaning of what she had said to Masciantonio.
That resulted in Vir being arrested a second time, for reportedly breaching her bail conditions. And this time, "the court ordered her to see a psychiatrist, pending a hearing," reported the Canadian daily.
Vir, a freelance writer for a Punjabi newspaper, had met several politicians including the Premier during her assignments. At a media briefing, she heard McGuinty talking about his fondness for gulab jamun, and she decided to send the mix to 'Big B' (big brother), as she had sent him a rakhi earlier.
She had even handed over her resume to McGuinty's wife Terri, mistakenly believing she would help her out.
When asked about this incident at a media briefing on February 27, McGuinty said, "It really strikes me that the whole thing is kind of sad and I hope it's resolved sooner than later."
Defending the police action, he said, "If I or someone else in my family or on my staff receives some kind of a threat, we turn it over to the police and they deal with it in the way they see fit."
Vir's case will come up for pre-trial hearing this week. In the meantime, she has to report to the police every week.
When contacted on the telephone, McGuinty's Press Secretary Karman Wong refused to comment on the incident "at this stage" as it was a legal matter.
Vir's husband Baljinder, who couldn't find a job in Canada in spite of his PhD degree, now owns a butcher shop.
