She accused her adoptive mother of torture and forced conversion in US. Back in India, Odisha woman says she lied
- trushali Kotecha
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Written by Sujit Bisoyi
Bhubaneswar | November 26, 2025 07:00 AM IST
The 21-year-old woman, who had been adopted by an Indian-origin US-based single mother in 2018, says she wanted to return to the country for love.
The woman, who returned to Odisha on Tuesday following intervention by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), claimed that she was in love with a man in Balasore and that she wanted to live in Odisha.
A week after accusing her US-based foster mother of torturing her, a 21-year-old woman from Odisha on Tuesday claimed that the allegations she made were false and were part of her efforts to return to India.
The woman, who returned to Odisha on Tuesday following intervention by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), claimed that she was in love with a man in Balasore and that she wanted to live in Odisha.
“Whatever I had said in the videos is false. I made those videos as I wanted to return to Odisha. My adoptive mother never tortured me nor forced me to convert. I told lies and made those videos on my own. I appeal to US authorities to release my adoptive mother. She is in great trouble over my allegations,” said the woman after landing at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar.
The woman was brought back to Odisha on an emergency passport after the state authorities wrote to the MEA on the basis of the videos in which she made an emotional appeal, alleging abuse and forced religious conversion by her foster mother in the US.
In one of the videos, the teary-eyed woman could be heard appealing to Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to help her return. In yet another clip, she said, “She (the adoptive mother) is a Christian. I am a Hindu girl. She is forcing me to convert to Christianity. When I refuse, she harasses me.”
According to officials, the woman was adopted from a childcare home in Bhubaneswar by an Indian-origin US-based single mother in 2018, when she was 14. Before this, the girl had been rescued from Bengaluru and was lodged at a childcare home in Nilagiri in Odisha’s Balasore district, from where she was brought to Bhubaneswar.
She said she wanted to marry a man from Balasore whom she had studied with in school and come in contact with again in 2024 through social media. “I like the man, and I want to marry him. It was my idea to make those videos by making false allegations to return to India. I didn’t like the lifestyle in the US. But whatever allegations I made regarding abuse and conversion are false,” she told The Indian Express. She said her life was never in danger in the United States.
The Balasore district administration has currently lodged the woman at the Shakti Sadan, the relief and rehabilitation home for women in distress. “As she has no relatives here, we will first try to verify her past records. We will also verify the background and details of the man with whom she wants to settle. Whatever is legally possible will be done,” said a district administration official.
Asked about any potential action against her for making false allegations, the official said they want her to get settled first.
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