Billionaire’s daughter Vasundhara Oswal on Ugandan ordeal: ‘Male officer threw me in van; denied food, water’

Vasundhara Oswal was detained in a cell after offering an announcement and was requested to pay USD 30,000 and give up her passport as a part of a police bond

NEW DELHI: Vasundhara Oswal, daughter of Indian-origin billionaire Pankaj Oswal, has damaged her silence on her three-week nightmare behind bars in Uganda. Falsely accused of kidnapping and murdering her father’s former worker, she endured jail circumstances that she calls a “gross violation of human rights.”
A case constructed on lies
The 26-year-old was arrested on October 1, 2024, over the alleged abduction of Mukesh Menaria, a former worker of Pankaj Oswal.However, the case crumbled when Menaria was discovered alive in Tanzania simply days later.
Despite this, Vasundhara remained imprisoned for weeks. Speaking to PTI on Friday, she recalled the horrors she confronted, “I was detained for five days, then thrown in prison for two weeks. I wasn’t allowed to shower, and they denied me food and water. My parents had to bribe police officers just to get me basic necessities.”
At one point, she was reportedly denied access to a washroom as punishment.
Arrested without a warrant, thrown into a van
According to Vasundhara, Ugandan police raided her premises without a warrant and took her away under false pretenses. “When I requested them to current a search warrant, they mentioned, ‘We are in Uganda, we can do anything. You’re not in Europe anymore,’” she alleged.
She claimed a male officer bodily compelled her right into a police van when she refused to conform instantly.
Denied authorized rights, trapped in the system
Forced to present an announcement with no legal lawyer, Vasundhara mentioned she was made to pay $30,000 and give up her passport for a police bond—but she was nonetheless thrown again in her cell. Even after acquiring an unconditional launch order from the courts, she was illegally detained for an additional 72 hours.
Shockingly, as a substitute of dismissing the case after Menaria was discovered alive on October 10, authorities saved her in jail and even escalated her expenses from kidnapping to tried homicide.
From petty crimes to murderers’ block
Initially housed in a facility for petty criminals, Vasundhara was later moved to a jail for convicted murderers and human traffickers. She spent two weeks in Nakasongola jail, fearing for her life.
After weeks of authorized battles, she secured bail on October 21, however her ordeal was removed from over. Her passport was solely returned on December 10, and the case was not dismissed till December 19.
‘They needed cash’
Vasundhara alleges that corrupt officers saved the costs alive even after Menaria was discovered, decreasing them later to a misdemeanor confinement cost—all in an try and extort extra money.
“This was done to keep something over our heads and squeeze more money from my family,” she mentioned.
Seeking justice
Now free, Vasundhara desires the Ugandan authorities to be held accountable for what she calls an unjust persecution. “This is up to the Ugandan government to correct its mistakes. We have invested in their country for years, and this is how they treat us?” she mentioned.
As she opinions authorized choices, her case has raised world issues over police corruption and human rights violations in Uganda.