Last week, 40-year-old Indian-origin woman Priyadarshini Patil committed suicide in Australia. Along with this, his family’s fight for the custody of his two children has once again brought to the fore the tragic battle of cases related to the custody of Indian or Indian origin children abroad. Priyadarshini Patil was found dead on August 27 in Belagavi, Karnataka. She was fighting for the custody of her children for almost three years. This happened after New South Wales authorities accused Patil and her husband of ‘negligent and improper care’ towards the children and separated the children from them. Both are Australian citizens.
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Priyadarshini Patil Earlier this month she returned to India to be with her father. He committed suicide a week later. He also left a suicide note, in which he blamed some neighbors and the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice for ruining his family and his life. According to media reports, Patil and her husband were unhappy with the treatment of one of their children, who Ulcerative Colitis Are suffering from.
Their son was admitted to a private hospital in New South Wales, but there was no improvement after six months of care, leading the parents to seek medical transfer.
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According to reports, the request was denied and a child protection case was initiated. The argument was that Amartya’s condition did not improve due to “improper care” at home. Patil’s second child (who is over 18 years of age) was also taken into custody by child welfare officials.
As is protocol in such cases, social workers met the parents and observed the home environment. Six positive reports were submitted, but these were replaced by the seventh. Based on this report, child welfare officials took Patil’s children into custody. On Patil’s death, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs said that they were deeply saddened by Priyadarshini Patil’s death and expressed deep condolences to her family.
