Kindergarten teacher Indira Gandhi’s daughter Prasana Diksa was taken away by her Muslim convert (converted to Islam) ex-husband K Pathmanathan (Muslim name Muhammad Riduan Abdullah) 15 years ago.
In heartful words, she said, “I have not seen my child since 2009. My daughter is now 16 years old. She will soon be 18. What are the authorities waiting for?”
In a media statement made after attending the Ipoh High Court case on the judicial review of police efforts to detain Riduan, she noted that it has been eight years since the civil court issued a committal order for the authorities to arrest him but nothing happened.
Indira pointed out that she has not seen any concrete evidence or proper investigation by the police to find and arrest Riduan and bring back Prasana.
She pointed out that the Ipoh High Court had previously instructed the Attorney-General’s Chambers to file an affidavit once in three months to show the efforts taken by the police.
She noted that the Ipoh High Court had previously ordered the Attorney General’s Chambers to submit an affidavit every three months to demonstrate the efforts of the police.
“In my opinion, the contents of the affidavits filed by the police for the last four years have been vague and unhelpful in tracing Pathmanathan.
“The investigation process as stated in the affidavits clearly shows that the police have completely and utterly failed to make any serious efforts in locating Pathmanathan.
“This is despite the fact that Pathmanthan is the registered owner of vehicles and has even been summoned for speeding,” she said.
Custody battle
When Riduan took away Prasana in 2009 after he converted to Islam, Prasana was an infant.
Later, Riduan and Indira became embroiled in a closely watched interfaith custody battle after unilaterally converted Prasana and her two other children to Islam.
In 2014, the Ipoh High Court ordered police to recover Prasana from her father. In 2016, the Federal Court ordered the inspector general of police to arrest Riduan.
In 2018, the Federal Court unanimously ruled that unilateral conversions of children were illegal because such decisions required the consent of both parents. The Supreme Court also issued an arrest warrant against Riduan.
