Kerala CPI-M leader booked for kidnapping daughter's new-born child

A 23-year old woman, daughter of a senior Communist Party of India-Marxist leader in Thiruvananthapuram, has accused her parents of forcefully having taken away her new-born child from her soon after its birth a year ago and approached the police seeking to get the baby back.

Anupama S Chandran, daughter of CPI-M local committee member P S Jayachandran, alleged that though she had lodged a complaint with the police several times since April, they were reluctant to register a case against the family members.

However, police in the Kerala capital said a case was registered on Tuesday against six people including her parents, sister and husband and father's two friends, and said the delay happened as they were waiting for legal opinion.

Multiple charges, under IPC Section 343 (wrongful confinement), 361 (kidnapping from wrongful guardianship), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and so on, were imposed against the accused, they said.

A former leader of the Students' Federation of India, a feeder organisation of the CPI-M, Anupama alleged that though she had submitted her complaint to senior Marxist party leaders including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, no one had helped her get her baby back.

"Is this how the police should react when a woman approaches them with the missing complaint of her child? Do they seek legal opinion for every such case? I strongly feel that the delay was made deliberately to protect my father and family members," she told the media.

According to Anupama's complaint, her parents did not like her relationship with Ajith, who was also a youth federation leader of the Left party.

As the child was born out of wedlock, they had forcefully taken away the boy child, three days after she got discharged from the hospital post delivery.

She left home in April and has been living with Ajith since then, she said.

The police, however, said, her father Jayachandran admitted that the child was separated from his daughter by them, but claimed during the interrogation that it was done with her consent.

"The father claimed she had given her consent in a signed stamp paper that she has no objection to hand over the child as she was not able to take care of the infant. However, the complainant said that the family had made her sign on the paper by force," a police officer told PTI.

According to the father's statement, the child was placed in ammathottil, the electric cradle located in front of the state-run child welfare centre at Thycaud in Thiruvananthapuram in October last year.

As per the rules of the centre, when they receive a child in the cradle, they would keep it with them for the next two months. he said, adding that if no one comes claiming the child's ownership, they would allow the public to adopt the infant.

"We have contacted the Welfare Committee authorities... they have admitted that they received a child on the same day but not ready to reveal anything further as it is against their rules and norms regarding adoption," the police officer added.

The probe is still going on to collect more details and trace the baby, the official said.

Meanwhile, the state women's commission on Thursday registered a case based on the woman's complaint.

The commission chairperson, P Sathidevi, sought an immediate report from the police chief in this regard and decided to summon the accused during its sitting scheduled next month, an official statement said in Thiruvananthapuram.