Nimisha Priya donation scam: MEA calls social media posts seeking funds 'fake', flags evangelist KA Paul's account

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday warned people against donating to Save Nimisha Priya social media posts, saying there was no government-affiliated campaign seeking funds for the Indian nurse.

"We have seen claims being made on social media seeking monetary contributions into a GoI designated bank account in the Nimisha Priya case. This is a fake claim," said MEA.

The fake donation was sought by a blue-tick X account in the name of evangelist KA Paul. The post reads, "Donate directly to Save Nimisha to the Government of India account designate. We need 8.3 crore rupees."

Nimisha Priya has been jailed in Yemen for many years after she was convicted of murdering Talal Abdo Mehdi.

This comes after Paul requested the Houthi administration to speed up the release of Nimisha Priya in a viral video, wherein he was joined by the nurse's husband Tomy Thomas and 13-year-old daughter Mishel. In the video, Mishel says, "Please help bring my mother home. I badly want to see her. I miss you mummy."

Nimisha, who arrived in Yemen in 2011, established a clinic in Sana'a in 2015 under Talal's sponsorship. The previous year, her husband and daughter returned to India. Talal later allegedly forged marriage documents to establish that they are husband and wife. He then allegedly took her passport, extorted money from her and abused her physically and mentally.

Nimisha, who was desperate to escape, drugged Talal to get her passport back but the he died of overdose. She was later nabbed by Yemeni authorities from the Saudi Arabia border.

In 2020, Nimisha was sentenced to death by a trial court while her appeals were rejected by upper courts. The Supreme Judicial Council of Yemen upheld the death sentence in 2023 following which the Yemeni President approved the verdict last year. However, her execution scheduled for July 16 was suspended with the help of friendly governments, according the Ministry of External Affairs.

Nimisha's family is making efforts to pay blood money to Talal's kin but they have rejected the offer and have been insisting on her execution.