Chennai: 20 years after abduction, man meets parents

CHENNAI: February 18, 1999, was the last time Sivagami saw her youngest son. She had left him by a water pump near her house in Pulianthope as she went to inquire about a power cut. Five minutes later, she found her son missing. A young girl in the neighbourhood came running to tell her that he was taken away on a two-wheeler.
“I couldn’t believe that my son was kidnapped,” said Sivagami. He was about 18 months old then.
But Sivagami and her husband Nageshwar Rao, a wall painter, did not give up. They went to every police station in the city, filed cases in the high court, travelled to Hyderabad and Mumbai, sold their thatched house to search for their son.
Finally, 20 years later, they met their Subash, now 22 and known as Avinash Jay Manthe, on Sunday (September 8). “I can’t put into words how I feel. There is joy, sadness, pain, relief and all emotions,” said Avinash.
Avinash was sold to the now-defunct Malaysian Social Service for Rs 10,000. The orphanage was later shut down when it was found that it had facilitated illegal adoptions of more than 300 children to foreign couples, many stolen from poor families. “But my American family was not aware of this,” said Avinash.
Nine years after their search, the couple, with the help of CBI, traced his whereabouts to Wisconsin. “We took the help of a journalist to contact the American family. But there was no response,” said Nageshwar Rao.. The FBI had complied with the CBI and sent DNA samples of the child. The paternity test showed positive, confirming it was their child. “My family was sceptical. They had left it to me to decide. But I was only 13 and was too scared to take a decision,” said Avinash.
Two years ago, Avinash decided to get in touch with his biological parents. He contacted their lawyer Mohanavadivelan and had a video chat with his parents, elder brother and sister. They later began exchanging photographs and texts. A month ago, he decided to fly down. “Though we could not communicate, we knew what we felt. I began missing them a lot,” he said.
Avinash, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is leaving the city on Thursday. He also promised that the next time he returns, he will learn Tamil. “This is not a goodbye forever, I’ll be back soon and I’ll take care of them,” he said.
Arun Dohle of Against Child Trafficking, who has been helping trace children illegally placed for adoption abroad, said there were over 300 similar cases pending investigation. “Many such children were sent to the USA, Netherlands and Australia, and it is disappointing that their governments have not ordered any criminal investigation,” said Arun.