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‘Bought Ticket On Credit Card’: Celina Jaitly Recalls Fleeing Austria After Abusive Marriage; Seeks PM Modi’s Help For Brother
Arfa Javaid | February 8, 2026 7:11 PM CST

Actor and former Miss India Celina Jaitly has been constantly posting about her brother, Major (Retd) Vikrant Kumar Jaitly, who has allegedly been illegally detained in the UAE since September 2024. The family claims that the Special Forces officer and former UN peacekeeper was picked up from a mall and has since been under arbitrary detention. She has recently appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring her brother back home.

“My request to Modiji is to please bring this soldier back. He has given his entire youth to the nation. If he had done something wrong, there would have been a prosecution by now,” she said in an interview with India Today.

In an interview with PTI, she revealed that she was in Austria when she learnt about her brother’s detention. “At first, I thought my brother was playing a prank. For an hour, I dismissed it as one of his stupid jokes.”

Troubling Marriage With Peter Haag

She also opened up about the troubles she has faced in her personal life with her husband, Peter Haag. Jaitly said that after her brother’s detention, she was asked to disown him and remove the Jaitly surname from her children’s names, but she refused.

She said she was in a very “abusive and bad” marriage, but did everything to make it work for the sake of her children.

“I was in a very abusive and bad marriage. But you do everything to make your marriage work when you have children. When you don’t have parents, when you no longer have your assets, you do everything to keep your marriage going for your children.”

She added that for 15 years, she gave up her career and entrusted her husband with finances and the children, only to lose access to both.

Bought Ticket On Credit Card

Celina also revealed that she fled her home in Austria and returned to India after facing emotional, physical, verbal, and financial abuse by Haag. She added that she booked her ticket using a credit card.

“I haven’t been able to reach my sons since I came here. After getting an injunction order from the High Court in Austria, I was able to talk to my sons, but that too was cut abruptly in two minutes. Since I have escaped to India, I have spoken to my children only twice,” she said.

She added, “I keep thinking what my sons are going through, what they are being put through. I don’t know what they think about their mother. They are little, and they can be influenced. Maybe one day, when they grow up, they will understand the trial of their mother. But right now, I have to choose which battle to fight, and my brother takes priority.”

As if all this was not enough, Jaitly said her estranged husband tried to sell her Mumbai property without her consent, and she had to seek a court injunction just to enter her home.

“This house, which once had luxury cars, four parkings, the best furniture, and my parents, I entered it without any furniture, without any cars, without any money and without my parents. I returned to India after 15 years, and imagine, the only family you have is your brother, and you have to fight just to hear his voice and know where he is.”

Celina Jaitley's Brother Detained In UAE

Jaitly recently filed a writ of habeas corpus before the Delhi High Court to know about her brother’s whereabouts. “All I was told was a vague title of ‘National Security’.”

The Delhi High Court has also passed an order allowing a UAE-based legal firm to represent him.

Jaitly, who won the title of Femina Miss India in 2001 and was the fourth runner-up at Miss Universe the same year, had a successful film career before she left it to settle into married life. She starred in box office hits such as No Entry, Apna Sapna Money Money, Golmaal Returns, Zinda, Thank You, and the critically acclaimed short film Seasons Greeting.


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