"It is very clear that racial and religious sentiments of the majority seem to prevail over almost everything in this country.
"If my name was Fatimah instead of Indira, don't you think I would have been reunited with my daughter much earlier?" the former kindergarten teacher told The Vibes news portal in a recent video call interview.
Indira cited the failure by the police, especially the outgoing Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Abdul Hamid Bador, to reunite her with her child, who was forcefully taken away from her when the latter was still a baby, despite numerous promises that there will be an amicable solution to the issue.
There is yet to be developments in the matter despite numerous court orders, including one by the Federal Court, ordering the police to reunite the child with her mother, she rued further.
"As the current IGP (Hamid) had promised a 'happy ending' for all parties, is he planning to leave (retire in May) without fulfilling that vow?" she asked.
Indira's ex-husband Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, whose name prior to conversion to Islam was K Padmanathan, unilaterally converted his three children with Indira to Islam, in 2009. He took Prasana, who was just 11-months-old then, while the elder children, Tevi Darshiny, and Karan Dinesh, who were then 13 and 12, respectively, were left with their mother.
Prasana will be 13 this year.
Following a lengthy legal battle at both the civil and syariah courts, the Federal Court in 2016 unanimously declared the conversions null and void.
The police said they have made various efforts to trace Riduan's whereabouts, including appealing for information from the public, but to no avail.
'I just want to hug her'Indira reiterated that should she be reunited with Prasana, she will not force the latter to renounce Islam.
"I just want to meet her and hug her. Prasana is my flesh and blood after all.
"She is now 13 years old and is becoming a young woman. I have fought tooth and nail for this, and I will not give up until I get to see her."
Indira noted that her case has gone through five IGPs, and there is yet to be a closure. And she does not have high hopes for the next IGP either.
"Including the current IGP, I have been dealing with five IGPs. None have taken significant action.
"What was their fear? What was holding them back? Only Hamid has given some assurances and promises, but to no avail. I can only hope that the new IGP will be genuine and find a solution for me. No more empty promises. Only meaningful action."
Meanwhile, Arun Dorasamy, the chairman of the Indira Gandhi Action Team (Ingat) said the distraught mother submitted a letter to Hamid last Friday as a last-ditch effort to gain updates on the status of her daughter, before the top cop's retirement on May 3.
"We have yet to meet the IGP from the day he assumed his post (in May 2019)," Arun said, adding that neither has Hamid responded to numerous letter they have sent to him seeking to meet him.
Indira's lawyers filed a RM100 million civil suit against the IGP in November last year over the failure to reunite her with her daughter based on the court ruling, and the cases is expected to be heard in June.
Source: The Vibes
Photo source: Bernama