2 held in Banerjee’s murder case: MoI

KABUL): The Ministry of Interior (MoI) on Monday said two suspects in connection with the killing of an Indian author, Sushmita Banerjee, had been arrested in southeastern Paktika province.

Known in Afghanistan insurgents last week after she returned back from India. Her last rites were performed two days ago in Paktika, according to her Afghan husband.
Interior Ministry spokesman Ghulam Siddiqui Siddique told reporters in Kabul two Taliban men had been arrested in connection with the murder. They were detained by police with two AK-47s, pistols and a hand grenade, he said.

The detainees had confessing to their crime in initial interrogations, said Siddique, who praised Paktika police leadership for the arrests and asked the police department to ensure the protection of all foreigners across the country.

The Taliban have denied hand in the killing, but Banerjee’s husband, Jaanbaz Khan said he had no personal enmity and her wife had been killed by armed insurgents.

Indian ambassador to Afghanistan has been in touch with Banerjee’s family and her husband has informed him that he has performed the last rites two days back, sources said today.

Banerjee, 49, recently moved back to Afghanistan to live with her husband. Her family, friends and political party Trinamool Congress were calling for her body to be brought back to India, but Khan told the Indian government Kamala last rites had been performed.

Banerjee’s book “Kabuliwalar Bangali Bou” (A Kabuliwala’s Bengali Wife), about her escape from the Taliban in 1995, became a bestseller in India and was made into the Bollywood film “Escape From Taliban” in 2003.
The memoir focused on her life in Afghanistan with her husband and her escape from the militants.

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