Actor opens up on family crisis, alleged illegal detention and personal struggles
February 8, 2026: Actor and former Miss India Celina Jaitly has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the case of her brother, Major (Retd) Vikrant Kumar Jaitly, who has allegedly been illegally detained in the UAE since September 2024. The family claims the former Special Forces officer and UN peacekeeper was picked up from a mall and has since been held under arbitrary detention without formal charges. Speaking to the media, Jaitly said her brother has dedicated his life to the nation and questioned why there has been no prosecution if any wrongdoing was involved. She has also filed a habeas corpus petition in the Delhi High Court to ascertain his whereabouts, with the court allowing a UAE-based legal firm to represent him.
Amid the ongoing legal battle, Jaitly also spoke candidly about the turmoil in her personal life, revealing she endured what she described as an abusive marriage with her estranged husband, Peter Haag. She alleged that following her brother’s detention, she was pressured to disown him and even remove her surname from her children’s names, which she refused. The actor said she sacrificed her career for 15 years to focus on her family, only to later face emotional, physical, verbal and financial abuse. She eventually fled Austria and returned to India, booking her flight on a credit card, and has since had extremely limited contact with her children.
Adding to her ordeal, Jaitly claimed her estranged husband attempted to sell her Mumbai property without consent, forcing her to seek legal intervention. Reflecting on her return to India after 15 years, she said she came back without assets, parents, or financial security, with her detained brother being her only immediate family. Despite the multiple legal and emotional battles she faces, Jaitly said her priority remains securing her brother’s release, hoping that justice and diplomatic intervention will bring him home safely.