Mum in distress after estranged husband allegedly flees with daughter

A 30-YEAR-OLD mother has been at her wits end for the past nine months after her estranged husband allegedly fled the country with her three-year-old daughter in a case similar to the long-running M. Indira Gandhi saga.

Last September, bank officer V. Thevitthra obtained temporary custody of her daughter from the Shah Alam High Court but weeks later, her husband allegedly took the child and initially fled to Singapore before Interpol confirmed that the he took the child to India.

She was then in the midst of seeking a divorce from her husband.

She said that during one of the visits granted by the court, her husband took the child to a mall in Gurney Drive, Penang, before texting her that they had “gone to Kuala Lumpur.”

Thevitthra said she frantically tried to reach them but got no replies. She then lodged a police report at the Pulau Tikus station.

She said that despite lodging the police report, her husband applied for a passport for their daughter and fled through the Johor immigration checkpoint despite the court ruling.

Despite Thevitthra having interim custody of the child at that time, an investigating officer assured her that the child was not kidnapped since she was with her father.

Thevitthra and her lawyer R. Renuga yesterday sought the help of Gerakan to highlight her plight.

The case is similar to that of Perak woman M. Indira Gandhi, whose husband absconded with her youngest child in 2010 and has yet to be traced despite various court challenges.

Renuga told the media that the high court in Shah Alam this month granted sole custody of the child to Thevitthra, and also dismissed the husband’s claims of custody.

“Her husband had attended a zoom conference of the high court decision on May 17, when the judge delivered her verdict granting sole custody to Thevitthra.”

Thevitthra is now urging police and anyone in India to reunite her with her only daughter.

She is unable to seek help from her in-laws, who have not revealed the whereabouts of their son and granddaughter.

Thevitthra said that while she was elated that the high court ruled in her favour and accorded costs to the defendant, she remains dejected as she had no clue about where her daughter was.

“I just want my daughter home. There is a court order for it,” she said.

Police had informed Renuga that Singapore Interpol had said her client’s husband had flown to Bangalore, India on November 7 last year with the child.

It is also learnt that the husband has filed an appeal against the high court decision although the custody was awarded to the mother early this month. – June 28, 2024.