Indian Writer Shot Dead In Afghanistan

An Indian woman who wrote a popular book about her dramatic escape from the Taliban in the 1990s has been shot dead in eastern Afghanistan.

Police said Taliban militants shot Sushmita Banerjee outside her home in Paktika Province on the night of September 4 and dumped her bullet ridden body near a religious school. She was 49 years old.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The Afghan Taliban has denied involvement.

The BBC quoted police as saying Banerjee, also known as Sayed Kamala, was employed as a health worker and had also been filming the lives of local women.

She went to Afghanistan in 1989 after marrying an Afghan businessman. The book about her dramatic escape in 1995 became a bestseller in India and was made into a Bollywood film in 2003: “Escape From [The] Taliban.”

Based on reporting by AFP and BBC