Sunita Alahan

Sunita Alahan (née Parekh), was an employee at Dev Alahan's Swinton branch. She fled when she found she was being forced into an arranged marriage in Mumbai, India with Deepak, the son of family friends. Sunita sought help from Dev, who sheltered her in the Corner Shop flat until the date of her flight had passed. When her parents found out they were furious and her domineering mother Mena made it a choice - an arranged marriage with her family's blessing or defy her family and never see them again. Sunita chose to determine her own future.

Dev offered Sunita a job in his Coronation Street shop with accommodation thrown in, freeing Deirdre Rachid up to become a troubleshooter for all Dev's empire.

1978-2003: Arrival
In 2003, Sunita started dating Peter Barlow's navy mate Ciaran McCarthy but he was taken to prison for being absent from the navy without permission. He returned after a few months just as Dev was finally beginning to return Sunita's affections. Ciaran moved in on her and managed to win her back. At Peter's wedding to Shelly Unwin, Ciaran asked Sunita to marry him and they set a date for 29th December and planned to marry at the registry office. Ciaran really didn't want to get married but couldn't find a way to tell Sunita. At his stag do, he thumped rival Dev hoping to be put in jail but Dev didn't press charges. Tracy Barlow told Sunita anyway, and told her that Dev didn't want to get married. Ciaran said he did but at the registry office Sunita knew down deep he didn't want to and called off the wedding.

In 2004, Sunita went out with Danny Baldwin but she found out he was married to Frankie, so Sunita dumped him. In July, Dev found out that something was wrong with Sunita. When she collapsed on the shop floor, Dev took her to the doctors and he told her that she had an aneurism and a brain tumour.

2003-2004: Crazy Maya
Later Maya Sharma, Dev’s girlfriend, began to suspect something was wrong, so she took Sunita’s flat key to see what she could find in the bathroom. She found a pregnancy kit. Then when Dev and Sunita were in the flat, Maya let herself in and saw them hugging each other. Maya thought Sunita was pregnant, but Dev told Maya that Sunita had an aneurism and a brain tumour.

In August, Dev told Sunita that he still loved her and when he told Maya she left him then came to Dev’s flat to get her things but before leaving she trashed his flat. Sunita had to go to hospital to have an operation to get rid of the aneurism and the brain tumour, but when Maya came back, she tried to get Dev done for sexual harrassment by getting Leanne Battersby to try and bed him. Leanne took Dev to court and asked Maya to help her, but Leanne and Maya lost the case.

2004-2009: Married and birth of the twins
In October, Dev and Sunita were going to get married but Maya broke in to the shop flat and got hold of Sunita’s birth certificate and married seven illegal immigrants in Sunita’s name to try and stop them from getting married. Sunita was arrested and sent to prison, but Dev managed to sort out the mess and Maya was arrested, but she was released on bail. Maya went around burning all of Dev’s shops and took Sunita hostage in the Coronation Street shop flat and set fire to it with Dev and Sunita in the flat. They were both saved but Maya saw all and tried to run both of them down with her car. A truck crashed into the back of her car and Maya was sent to hospital. Sunita recovered from her ordeal and she and Dev settled down to married life which went pretty smoothly for a while. Sunita discovered she was pregnant with twins and they were overjoyed. She had recently fallen out with best friend Shelley because Shelley's boyfriend Charlie Stubbs was controlling and isolating Shelley but shortly after Shelley dumped Charlie, she and Sunita made up. Shelley was looking forward to being a surrogate Auntie to the babies. Sunita's world came down around her when she discovered that Dev had several children by several different women whom he had housed and given jobs at his various shops. She was devastated and left Dev. Dev was with her when the twins, a boy, Aadi and a girl, Asha were born, but Sunita didn't know if she could ever trust him again.

2009-: Back with Dev
In 2009, upon Dev seeing golfing associate Matt Davis with his children, Dev confronts Matt. Matt reluctantly tells Dev that he and Sunita are engaged and that Sunita was hoping to tell Dev herself. Infuriated, and possibly jealous, Dev goes to see Sunita. She is genuinely sorry that he has found out that way but assures Dev that Matt is not trying to replace him. Dev isn't convinced and confronts Matt in the following episode, accusing him of doing so. Sunita, very angry at him, orders Dev to leave. In 2010, Dev holds a party for the twins at his flat in Victoria Court. Sunita is pleased with the way he looks after the twins. Matt is jealous that Sunita is starting to feel something for Dev, which leads to him being suspicious of Sunita. Unable to bear Dev's presence in their lives, Matt and Sunita's relationship ends as Dev and Sunita become closer, resulting in them getting back together. Sunita is now regularly seen working and helping Dev in the Corner Shop. In May 2010, unhappy with Victoria Court, Sunita manages to convince Dev that they should buy No. 7 Coronation Street from Maria Connor (Samia Smith). Dev reluctantly agrees to Sunita's wishes, they sell the house in Bramhall and their offer on Number 7 is accepted by Maria.

In August 2010, Sunita is horrified when she finds Aadi unconscious on the couch. She immediately rushes him to hospital, where they learn that a head injury is evident. Sunita and Dev believe that Claire Peacock (Julia Haworth), who had been babysitting Aadi, is to blame. After some nasty confrontations with the Peacocks, they are shocked when young Simon Barlow (Alex Bain) confesses that he was responsible for Aadi's injury. Sunita feels extremely guilty that they accused Claire of child abuse, but her attempts at an apology are quickly dismissed by Claire and husband Ashley (Steven Arnold), who are disgusted that the residents turned against her.

On 6 December 2010, a gas explosion at the Joinery bar causes a tram to derail and crash into the Corner Shop and The Kabin. Sunita, along with Molly Dobbs (Vicky Binns) and her baby son Jack are left buried under the rubble fighting for their lives. Sunita is then rescued from the carnage after Becky McDonald (Katherine Kelly) finds her alive but with serious injuries. She makes a full recovery and returns home to her family.

In February 2011, Sunita is shocked when Dev reveals that he has been using their savings to pay for the shop refit, as it wasn't insured. They face financial ruin as the shop was looted on the night of the tram crash by Becky McDonald (Katherine Kelly) and they have no more money left, as Dev's other businesses have been struggling. Becky's husband Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) feels guilty about the Alahans' predicament and secretly posts a letter full of money with the word "sorry" written on the front. The next morning Dev and Sunita find it and are shocked by this, Dev decides to tell the police about the money but Sunita refuses and tells him if they tell the police they will have to keep the money and they wont be able to give it to Owen Armstrong (Ian Puleston-Davies) to finish rebuilding the shop. Sunita then convinces Dev to give the money to Owen and the shop is then completed. Later that day, Steve confesses it was him who stole the money from the shop and Dev then kicks him out of the house.

In June 2011, Grishma and Upma, Sunita's aunts return to visit her. They are surprised and shocked at where Sunita now lives and Dev's financial issues, as well as finding out that her and Dev aren't married and were not together during their first visit. They soon start to unsuccessfully search for a husband for Sunita. Having had enough, Dev proposes to Sunita in the Rovers, to which she says no. Later on in the evening, Sunita insists that her and Dev are fine as they are and that the proposal was just a way of proving a point to the aunts.

In 2012, Sunita started an affair with Karl Munro, who was dating Stella Price.

Background Information
In 2005, Sunita was axed along with several other characters by (then) producer Tony Wood, and left the series in February 2006. In May 2009, it was reported that Sunita was reintroduced by producer Kim Crowther. The character made her return in December that year.