Don’t leave us out, Indira Gandhi demands task force on daughter’s case as well
M Indira Gandhi has urged Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaacob to set up a task force to investigate the case of her missing daughter and former husband.
This comes after Ismail Sabri announced the formation of three task forces to look into contentious cases, namely the death of...
M Indira Gandhi has urged Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaacob to set up a task force to investigate the case of her missing daughter and former husband.
This comes after Ismail Sabri announced the formation of three task forces to look into contentious cases, namely the death of firefighter Muhamad Adib Mohd Kassim, allegations made by former attorney-general Tommy Thomas, and the Pulau Batu Puteh dispute.
“In light of the above task forces, Indira Gandhi urges the PM to set up an independent task force comprising former judges to investigate the police’s ineffectiveness in locating her ex-husband and the return of her daughter.
“It is beyond reason that the police have made no progress in the last seven years since the Ipoh High Court order in 2014,” representing lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal said in a statement today.
Indira’s daughter, Prasana, was an infant when her father Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, previously named K Pathmanathan, took her away in 2009 after converting to Islam.
No arrest made
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 High Court in Ipoh ordered the police to retrieve Prasana from her father. In 2016, the Federal Court ordered the inspector-general of police (IGP) to arrest Riduan.
The IGP post has changed hands three times since the court order in 2014, but the case remains unsolved, and no arrest has been made so far.
Prasana and Riduan remain missing to date.
“It is noted with much regret that the case of Indira Gandhi and her daughter Prasana who was abducted is an ongoing saga with no end in sight.
“Indira’s daughter is yet to be found. It has been 12 years since mother and daughter were separated,” the lawyers said.
Unilateral conversions
In 2018, the Federal Court unanimously ruled that unilateral conversions of children were unlawful as such decisions needed permission from both parents.
Back in January 2020, then IGP Abdul Hamid Bador revealed he knew the whereabouts of Riduan and urged him to surrender himself.
This is despite an arrest warrant from the Federal Court for Riduan, who had taken Prasana with him.
Indira then filed an RM100 million civil suit against Abdul Hamid and the police over their failure to arrest Riduan and recover Prasana.
Police and the government applied to strike out the suit, which was dismissed by Kuala Lumpur High Court. A hearing on the case has been set on Dec 15 this year.
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