Anupama's fight to keep her newborn 'complicated', State will ensure justice: Veena George

 Veena George.
Minister Veena George.

Thiruvananthapuram:  Commenting on the case of a 23-year-old woman's fight against her parents for forcefully taking away her newborn, Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Saturday said that it is "complicated and usual".

The minister said the CPM-led government has taken efforts to ensure justice for Anupama S Chandran, the mother.

"The Principal Secretary has been directed to launch a departmental enquiry. A preliminary report is expected soon," the minister said.

The State will take further action after the report, the minister clarified.

A timeline of events from the day the Council for Child Welfare received the baby too is in the works and will be submitted to the court, the minister added.

She also informed that the Vanchiyoor Court, where the baby's adoption proceedings are being overseen, has been notified of the ongoing investigation's status.

The minister also added that the State wishes the child to be with Anupama and that she hopes that the adoptive parents will not complicate the matter by seeking legal measures.

The court's verdict on the matter is still pending.

The development comes in wake of Anupama, a former leader of the Students' Federation of India, staging a one-day hunger strike before the State Secretariat on Saturday.

Earlier, she had slammed the entire CPM machinery, especially its unit in Thiruvananthapuram, for apathy as she approached a few leaders to address the issue.

Anupama, who is the daughter of CPM local committee member P S Jayachandran, has accused her parents of taking her baby from her soon after its birth a year ago.

According to her, the police refused to register a case against her influential family members despite making repeated attempts since April this year.

She has also alleged that the Council for Child Welfare's General Secretary Shiju Khan had helped the accused to keep her child away.

However, airing my concerns to the party leadership has not yielded any result, Anupama said.

Despite lodging a formal complaint, neither the party's interim state General Secretary A Vijayaraghavan nor the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has paid her any heed, she said.

Anupama gave birth to a child out of wedlock when in a relationship with Ajith, a member of the party's youth wing Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI).

Anupama's parents, who were against the relationship, had forcefully taken away the boy child, three days after she was discharged from the hospital post delivery.

Anupama left home in April and has been living with Ajith since then.

Meanwhile, the police said that 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 the 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.

Anupama's father Jayachandran has reportedly admitted that the child was separated from his daughter.

However, he maintains that it was done with her consent. However, Anupama alleges that her parents had forced her to sign a paper.

According to the father's statement, the child was placed in 'Ammathottil', the cradle in front of the state-run Child Welfare Centre at Thycaud here last October.

As per the rules of the Child Welfare Centre, a child received in the cradle would be kept with it for the next two months.

If no one comes claiming the child's ownership, they would allow the public to adopt the infant, the police said.

"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.

On Thursday, taking cognisance of the matter, the State Women's Commission has sought an immediate report from the state police chief. It has also summoned the accused for talks.

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