The poor widow of an Indian Second World War hero has been told by a court in London she must pay £12,000 for her husband's stolen George Cross medal to be returned to her.
Brahmi Devi's husband Naik Kirpa Ram survived the British Indian Army's brutal Burma campaign but was killed after he returned to India when he picked up a grenade at his regimental camp near Bangalore that detonated as he tried to throw it away to save his comrades.
Following his sacrifice he was awarded Britain's highest award for gallantry not in the face of the enemy by the Viceroy, Field Marshall Lord Wavell which his widow, now 81, kept as a memento in a trunk in her home.
The 1946 citation commended his "most conspicuous gallantry in carrying out hazardous work."
The medal however was stolen from her in 2002 by a man posing as an Indian army officer who said he had come with a welfare payment of around £250 to honour her late husband's bravery.
While there he duped her into signing an affidavit saying she had sold it to him.
She alerted the police and when the medal emerged at an auction in London, India's High Commissioner intervened to stop the sale.
The 'owner', Ashok Nath, a former Indian Army officer, said he had bought it from a Delhi antiques shop for £4,000.
The High Court ruled that the medal should be returned to Brahmi Devi but that Mr Nath had bought it in good faith and his costs must be reimbursed before it is handed over. A deadline of December has been set for the hero's widow to find the money.
Her nephew and lawyer today welcomed the decision to return the medal but criticised the ruling that she must pay the costs. She is a pensioner living on around £180 per month, he said, and it would take her years to raise the funds.
Members of the Indian community in London are trying to raise the money to help return the medal to its rightful owner.
"She is a pensioner and gets 14,000 rupees a month. Raising 10 lakhs (£12,000) will be a tough task for her but we are hearing a campaign by Indians in UK has been launched to raise it," said her nephew, Surinder Thakur.
"We are happy with the court order and hope to take back the medal very soon. It was a long battle for Brahmi and she is satisfied with the verdict."
