Kasaragod: When police went looking for VP Fathimabi* (44), who jumped bail 13 years ago in a case of assaulting her minor son, they were trying to clear a backlog of long-pending cases. But they ended up reuniting a mother with her two grown-up children.

Investigating officers said the case was another instance of children becoming pawns in bitter marital disputes, with one parent using them to settle scores with the other. The two children grew up without their mother, while their father moved on with his new partner.

Fathimabi, who changed her name to Amaya* after marrying Parameswaran*, was arrested in Thiruvalla, over 400 km from her home in Kasaragod’s Cheemeni, on Wednesday, October 21. She was wanted in a case registered by Chittarikkal police in 2013 for allegedly assaulting her 12-year-old son. She was booked for cruelty to child under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, which carries a maximum prison term of three years.

Kanhangad DySP MV Anilkumar, who headed the team that tracked down Fathimabi, said the police had been tracing absconding accused in long-pending cases that could not proceed without them being produced before court. “The trail led us to a home-nursing agency in Ernakulam,” he said.

The agency had assigned her to care for a 75-year-old woman who had fractured her leg in Thiruvalla. Between assignments, she stayed at a working women’s hostel in Ernakulam.

Though she went by the name Amaya, her identity documents remained in the name of Fathimabi, said civil police officer VV Ajayan, who was part of the team that traced her.

Her life in hiding began after the case was registered in 2013. At the time, she ran a tailoring shop in Kambalur, near Chittarikkal in Kasaragod's East Eleri panchayat.

One day, her son, then 12 years old, and his younger sister visited the shop. Police now suspect their father had dropped them there. Later that day, the father, along with their son, approached Cheemeni police with a complaint alleging that Fathimabi had assaulted the boy at the shop.

Cheemeni police did not register a case. “We doubted the complaint because two days earlier, we had mediated a fight between the couple and brokered a truce,” said an officer who was then posted at the station. The complaint was subsequently taken to Chittarikkal police, under whose jurisdiction the tailoring shop fell.

Chittarikkal police arrested Fathimabi. Unable to arrange sureties, she was remanded in judicial custody. “She spent a day in jail before her relatives came to her rescue,” said Ajayan. After securing bail, she disappeared.

When contacted, Fathimabi said she had left because the circumstances had made it impossible for her to stay. “First, there was the case. Then, after he (her husband) entered into another relationship, there was no way I could continue living there,” she said.

After she left, Parameswaran remarried, and their son stayed with him. Their younger daughter went to live with her paternal grandmother.

When in hiding, Fathimabi used a SIM card but relied only on WhatsApp calls to avoid detection, said Ajayan.

DySP Anilkumar said a centralised software system had made it easier to trace people by bringing together information from different interactions. “Even when a person uses a SIM card registered in someone else’s name, linked transactions, including banking activity, can help investigators establish their whereabouts,” he said.

Fathimabi's arrest brought her face to face with the children she had been separated from for 13 years. “As soon as we arrested her, we informed her children,” said Ajayan.

Her son, now 25, and her daughter were at court when the police brought Fathimabi there. Both are married. Her son’s child will turn one next month. Ajayan said her son told the court he did not want to pursue the complaint. An affidavit to that effect was submitted through a lawyer, and the court granted Fathimabi bail. “The case has been posted for November 20, when it is expected to be disposed of,” Ajayan said.

The daughter told police that the conflict between her parents had deprived both children of the love they should have received from their parents.

Fathimabi spent two days with her children. “I came here yesterday, secured bail and went with my daughter. I stayed with her, and today the two of us went to see my son,” she said on Friday.

On Friday night, when Onmanorama contacted her, she was at Payyanur railway station, waiting for the train back to Thiruvalla. Her daughter was with her. “Both my children are married. They have their own families and lives. It wouldn’t be right for me to become a burden on them,” she said.

But for the first time in 13 years, she has a family. “Now I know I have my children with me. But had I known it was this easy, I would have come home sooner,” she said.

For now, she is returning to Thiruvalla, to the elderly woman waiting for her care.

(*Name changed upon request)