FIR filed against mother, in-laws for not taking care of child

The picture has been used for representational purposes only

A 10-year-old daughter and her academics are suffering because of an estranged relationship between her parents. Despite the court's direction to the mother about sending the daughter to school, the mother failed to peruse the order and father once again moved to court praying that his daughter is made as a tool of harassment by her mother and in-laws as because of which she is mentally and physically tortured.

An FIR was filed against the child's mother and in-laws and acting on the complaint, the Pune based court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Janhavi Kelkar. The father has also complained about an illicit relationship and how the daughter was given sleeping pills which affected her health and education.

Based on the Magistrate Kelkar's direction, the Chaturshringi police station which falls under the jurisdiction of Pune city commissionerate has lodged a First Information Report on Friday against the mother, her parents and brothers. All are booked under the relevant section of Indian Penal Code which comprises of Criminal Conspiracy (120-B), Punishment for wrongful restrained (341) and an act done by them with common intention (34).

Sunil Ahuja (40) (all names changed to protect their identity) married Lata Lalwani (38) on April 29, 2007, in Jalgoan in Bhusawal and a year later they had a daughter name Disha. In 2016, Sunil suspected Lata of having an illicit relationship with another person who had let them live separately. Disha being small, the custody was given to her mother.

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Sunil is working in a Pune-based reputed multinational company as Digital marketing executive. Sunil since 2017 was approaching Police to register the case but gained no response from the police. He finally approached the court via lawyers Preet Singh Pardeshi and Naveen Sharma and filed a private case. On Monday, the court directed the police to file the FIR.

Sunil speaking to mid-Day said, "My wife Lata never did any of her mother's duty in right sense. Since we got married, she was not interested in cooking or other household works and she kept lying down on the bed the whole day, either sleeping or chatting on social media or talking over the mobile phone. This ignorance of her increased day by day due to which initially I had called a meeting of elder family members of both the parties. She admitted her mistakes and assured that she will never repeat the same. My wife always concentrated on herself, her figure only and she didn't even feed the baby Disha properly. This way since the birth of my daughter, she started harassment of a minor. I appointed a maidservant who would take care of my daughter in my absence and she never kept her neat and tidy and was not even bothered about hygiene and sanitation. She continued to send her to school many times without giving her bath. She gave junk and parcel food from outside due to which my daughter fell ill. Later my wife got attracted to another man and started having an illicit relationship with him. This man started visiting my house and she kept my daughter in the kitchen or gave her some sleeping pills and made her sleep in another bedroom. Keeping such negative and extra-marital affair surrounding I had a fight with my wife but she started harassing my daughter and brainwashed her. I met my daughter during our weekly visit or whenever I met her, she has sob stories to tell me. My daughter's sleep is affected as she has got a habit of sleeping at 10 pm but they kept on partying and taking her out till 2 am. How will my daughter go to school. Lata's mother and maternal aunt too keep on telling my daughter that they don't love her as she has my blood and does not belong to them."

Sunil's complaint claims, "Lata's brother is drug-addicted and in the past, police had arrested him. He was admitted to a de-addiction centre for treatment and still creates ruckus at home and destroys things. My daughter who is living in such an environment with her family members doesn't have any moral values and is not getting a good living atmosphere at their home. Disha is tortured by her identity crisis."

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Sunil's lawyers Preetisingh Pardeshi and Naveen Sharma argued, "It's every child's rights to gain education and Sunil is receiving emails from the school where his daughter is regularly absent in 2017 to 2018 for nine months as well as in June 2019 when he again paid the fees of school, the mother did not send. The bad deeds before marriage as well as till today. This certainly gets reflected and establishes that Lata can't give proper moral education and values to the daughter. It is very necessary that giving birth is not enough but to give moral education to children is necessary. Daughter is used as a pawn. This is cruelty and inhumanity against Disha and thus Lata played and is playing with the child's future and well-being which is against the interest and welfare of the child, hence it is clear that the child is not in safe hands.

Sunil said, "In the parent-teacher meet, the teacher informed both of us that when she was asked to write about parents, her essay was blank. I just want my daughter and her future to be safe and secure. I too want my daughter's custody as she is everything for me and my ray of hope. I am guilty that my daughter is suffering."

Senior Inspector Bhaskar Jadhav in-charge of Chaturshringi police station admitted that the FIR has been filed and said, "We are probing the case. We have registered the case against Disha's mother Lata, Lata's parent, maternal aunt as well as her brothers."

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