M Indira Gandhi has found new hope in meeting her long-lost daughter Prasana Diksa after a meeting with the police at Bukit Aman today.
Indira and the Indira Gandhi Action Team (Ingat) had met the police for about one hour this morning. She was initially scheduled to meet the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Abdul Hamid Bador.
However, her lawyer S Ambiga said Hamid had to attend another urgent meeting.
Indira (above) said she hoped to meet Prasana before Deepavali this year.
"This saga is nothing about religion. As a mother, I want to see my daughter. If she chooses to be in Islam, that's not the issue. I have no problem with her being a Muslim.
"I want to see her. I want to hold her. That's the whole purpose of finding Prasana. Hopefully, she will come back before Deepavali. It has been 11 years (since we last met)," she told the media outside the federal police headquarters today.
She was flanked by Ambiga, Ingat chairperson Arun Dorasamy and lawyer Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal.
Meanwhile, Ambiga said they had a good meeting with the police today.
"There was a small briefing by the police. We were told that the investigation was disrupted due to Covid-19 and the movement control order.
"We communicated our grave concerns... that Prasana is now 12 years old and she should be with her mother. We are very concerned about the psychological effect.
"We have been given a specific member of the police who we will deal with. We are going to have a meeting with the task force," said Ambiga.
She said that they have asked for Prasana to be home to celebrate Deepavali with her mother, adding, "this is not about religion. It's just about a mother wanting her daughter back."
Asked whether the police had promised to get Prasana before Deepavali, Ambiga said there was no promise but the police have been cooperative.
"It's never easy to make promises, but they are fully cooperative…it has to be resolved.
"We have legal options but we don't want to go there. I prefer working with the police. The IGP had stated very clearly that his goal is to get the child back," she said.
Arun said that Ingat is ready to give its full commitment with the police in order to bring Prasana home to Indira.
"We are willing to work with PDRM. We are ready to start a new chapter. Our deadline now is Deepavali. We will work 101 percent with the police," he said.
Last month, Indira and Ingat said they were planning to hold a “happy ending hunger strike” at Bukit Aman on Sept 11 from 9am to 5pm if the IGP did not agree to meet them by Aug 31.
Back in January, Hamid revealed that he knew the whereabouts of Indira’s former husband Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, and had urged him to surrender himself.
This was despite a warrant from the Federal Court for the arrest of Riduan, who had taken Prasana with him.
The “happy ending” term derives from a previous comment Hamid made, indicating that he hoped Riduan and Indira would be able to resolve the 10-year tussle over their daughter amicably.
Prasana was an infant when her father Riduan, previously named K Pathmanathan, took her away in 2009 after converting to Islam.
Riduan and Indira were later engaged in a tightly-watched interfaith custody battle after he unilaterally converted Prasana and their two other children to Islam.
In 2014, the Ipoh High Court ordered the police to retrieve Prasana from her father. In 2016, the Federal Court ordered the IGP to arrest Riduan.
In 2018, the Federal Court unanimously ruled that unilateral conversions of children were unlawful as such decisions needed permission from both parents. It also issued an arrest warrant for Riduan. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.