IGP: Police will abide by court ruling to widen search for Indira's ex-husband

The police will abide by the Ipoh High Court's latest ruling to expand its nationwide search for M Indira Gandhi's ex-husband, Riduan Abdullah, said Inspector-General of Police Khalid Ismail.

According to Khalid, the police will ramp up its search efforts to honour the principles of law and justice, and in respect of the country's judicial authority.

"Efforts to locate Riduan are ongoing, including investigations into allegations that an individual had used his identity to claim government benefits, such as the Budi95 petrol subsidy and the Rahmah Necessities Aid (Sara).

"At the same time, checks will also be conducted with the Immigration Department to confirm the travel restriction that remains in effect on the individual," said Khalid in a statement today.

Last month, Riduan was reportedly found to still be in the country after using his Budi95 and Sara allowance.

This revelation reignited public interest in the case, prompting the Indira Gandhi Action Team (Ingat) and several NGOs to co-organise a justice march on Nov 22.

Indira and her supporters marched from Sogo to the Bukit Aman police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur to hand over her estranged daughter, Prasana Diksa's teddy bear, to the IGP, in a symbolic demand for her daughter’s return.

Khalid, however, failed to show up, sparking criticisms from several parties, including Indira’s lawyer, who urged the home minister to censure the IGP.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), M Kulasegaran, who also joined the rally, assured them that he would help Indira schedule a meeting with the IGP.

At present, there is no confirmation regarding the date of this highly anticipated meeting.

‘Transparency and integrity’

However, in his statement today, Khalid asserted that previous efforts to locate Indira’s ex-husband have been undertaken with transparency and integrity.

“We stress that every action taken towards managing this case has been done professionally, transparently, and with integrity, to ensure that justice is upheld in accordance with the law,” he said.

Khalid also reminded the public not to speculate or spread misinformation regarding the matter, as it could risk jeopardising the investigation process.

He further urged members of the public to come forward if they had further information which could assist with the investigation.

He also noted that the Ipoh High Court has already conducted 18 case management sessions since 2021, and that the next session will take place on Feb 27 next year.

Indira’s 16-year struggle began in 2009 when her ex-husband unilaterally converted their children to Islam, abducted Prasana, and disappeared.

The Ipoh High Court overturned the conversion of the three minors in 2013, ruling it violated natural justice since Indira’s consent was not obtained. The court also granted her full custody.

In 2018, the Federal Court ordered the inspector-general of police to arrest Riduan for defying the High Court’s directive to return their youngest daughter to her mother - a mandate which remains unfulfilled.

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