Indian author shot dead in Afghanistan

Kabul (IANS): An Indian woman author who wrote a popular memoir about her escape from the Taliban has been shot dead in Afghanistan's Paktika province by suspected militants, BBC reported citing police on Thursday. Married to an Afghan businessman, Sushmita Banerjee, 49, was killed outside her home. The book about her dramatic escape in 1995 became a best-seller in India and was made into a Bollywood film in 2003.

Banerjee had recently moved back to Afghanistan to live with her husband. Banerjee became well-known in India for her memoir, 'A Kabuliwala's Bengali Wife', which recounted her life in Afghanistan with her husband Jaanbaz Khan and her escape. She was the subject of the 2003 Bollywood film, "Escape From Taliban". Starring actress Manisha Koirala, the film described itself as a "story of a woman who dares Taliban".