Special team to search for Indira Gandhi’s long-lost daughter.
The hunt for Prasana Diksa, who is tied up in a bitter custody battle between her parents, has been taken to the next level with the setting up of a special team to search for her, said Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador.
Hamid told The Malaysian Insight that since he took over as IGP last month, he has had several discussions with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on the case.
Prasana is the daughter of former kindergarten teacher Indira Gandhi. Indira’s former husband, K Pathmanathan @ Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, snatched the girl when she was a toddler.
He then converted Prasana and defied a court order to surrender the girl to her mother. The Ipoh High Court also ordered Riduan’s arrest.
Hamid told The Malaysian Insight that he had instructed CID to find both the father and daughter.
“We are taking it seriously. I have discussed with my CID team on how to find the daughter. I was away before but now I am here, so I will do it my way.”
He also said his beliefs as a Muslim won’t be used as a basis in the investigation and assured that police will abide by the court order.
“We will abide by the court’s decision. No one should feel aggrieved about it. I am not going to use religion (to influence) my actions and this will be a fair investigation.”
Two previous IGPs – Khalid Abu Bakar and Mohamad Fuzi Harun – failed to locate the girl and the father.
Since the case was previously fought out in the shariah and civil courts, Khalid took the stand that the child will be placed in a childcare centre so that both parents could have access to her.
However, Khalid’s successor Fuzi said despite media statements and calls to the public to help track down Riduan, the authorities were no closer to finding him.
Police have been searching for Riduan since a warrant was issued by the Ipoh High Court on May 20, 2014.
Last year, a five-man Federal Court bench unanimously decided that the conversion to Islam of Indira’s three children by Riduan was null and void.
Indira turned to the courts after Riduan abducted Prasana after unilaterally converting the couple’s three children to Islam in 2009. Prasana was only 11 months old then.
Indira has another daughter, 21, and a 20-year-old son, both of whom are living with her.
The distraught mother, after exhausting all avenues to locate her daughter, sought the help of Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) two months ago, to hold a public inquiry to find her child.
She is hoping that Suhakam can assist her, as the authorities remain clueless as to what had happened to Prasana.
Also helping her is a civil society group, Indira Gandhi Action Team, who had offered an RM10,000 reward for information leading to the whereabouts of Riduan or Prasana. – TMI