Barely 15 days after her marriage five years ago, she was deserted by her NRI husband, allegedly because her parents could not meet the dowry demand because of their poor financial condition. Later, she was thrown out by her in-laws.

On Friday, it was a dream coming true for Komal Pravinbhai Ganatra when she learnt she had secured 591 rank in the Union Public Service Commission examination for civil services.

Komal, who is a primary school teacher in a remote village of Bhavnagar district, expects to join Indian Revenue Service (IRS). She is among the 11 candidates from Gujarat who have cleared the civil services examination this year.

Daughter of a retired primary school teacher at Savarkundla in Amreli district, Komal is now determined to fight a legal battle with her NRI husband, Shailesh Popat, who is settled in New Zealand. She says they could not seek justice earlier because of the weak financial condition of her family and out of fear that litigation would affect her preparations for the top competitive exam. "I will definitely initiate legal action against my husband and in-laws now for what they did with me just because I came from a poor family and could not meet their financial demands," she says.Komal does not even have the address or contact number of Shailesh or the kind of job he has in New Zealand. "Shailesh never gave me his address or contact number. He is out of touch ever since he deserted me soon after our marriage five years ago," she says, adding he has also not divorced her.

While Shailesh did his M.Sc (chemistry) from a college in Rajkot, Komal holds a diploma in chemical engineering from Rajkot Government Polytechnic and a BA degree through correspondence from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University. She also has a primary teachers training certificate from a college in Savarkundla.

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