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Patil was reportedly deeply upset due to being separated from her teenage children for the past two years by Australian authorities
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Officials in Sydney are currently reevaluating the case and considering whether custody of the children should be returned to their father or grandparents
The recent tragic death of Priyadarshini Patil, an Indian-origin engineer, in Karnataka, has sparked an investigation by the Australian government into the circumstances that led to her demise. Patil was reportedly deeply upset due to being separated from her teenage children for the past two years by Australian authorities. Officials in Sydney are currently reevaluating the case and considering whether custody of the children should be returned to their father or grandparents, according to reports from thehindu.com.
This incident has drawn attention to the case of two-year-old Ariha Shah, who was taken away from her parents by German youth services over allegations of child abuse, as well as other cases involving Indian children or children of Indian descent.
Activists have organized a protest march in Delhi on August 31, intending to hand over a memorandum to the Australian High Commissioner. The memorandum urges the prompt return of the Patil children to their family, as they were not even allowed to attend their mother’s funeral in India.
The family of Patil contends that her children, 17-year-old Amartya Patil and 13-year-old Aparajita Patil, were removed from their parents’ custody in 2021 after they raised concerns about medical negligence at a public children’s hospital in Sydney, where Amartya was receiving treatment for a serious illness.
Expressing condolences, an Australian High Commission spokesperson in Delhi stated, “We are greatly saddened by the death of an Australian woman in India. We offer our deepest condolences to the family during this difficult time.” The spokesperson also mentioned that the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) had been providing consular assistance to the woman’s family.
Although the children are presently in the “care” of their father, Lingaraj Patil, who is also an engineer based in Australia, he asserts that he has yet to gain physical custody of the children. He shared that Australian child services officials contacted him on August 30 and informed him of an ongoing “assessment” regarding the possible return of full custody to him, indicating that the case has been under review.
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Priyadarshini Patil returned to India earlier this month, deeply distressed and losing hope of reuniting with her children
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Tragically, her body was discovered in the backwaters of the Malaprabha river in Belagavi district on August 20, prompting further concerns about the circumstances that led to her untimely demise
Lingaraj Patil, along with his father-in-law Subraya Desai, is advocating for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to intervene in the matter. This would involve Australia’s Department of Community Justice (DCJ) transferring Parental Responsibility (PR) either to the parent or the grandparents in India.
Child rights lawyer Suranya Aiyar, who has been actively involved in advocating for cases like Ariha Shah’s, highlighted a pattern where individuals of Indian origin in wealthy G-20 countries face challenges from child services due to cultural differences. Aiyar, who is orchestrating the protest on August 31, urged the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to negotiate bilateral protocols for repatriating children to foster agencies in India or to extended families when they are separated from their parents’ custody.
The case goes back more than a decade when Amartya was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a condition requiring regular infusion treatments at a children’s hospital in Sydney. After dissatisfaction with the treatment’s progress, the Patil family raised complaints of “medical negligence” against the hospital in 2019. However, the situation escalated when the DCJ filed a counter-case against them in the Children’s Court in 2021, alleging their unfitness as parents. Consequently, both Amartya and Aparajita were placed under childcare protection.
The Patil family initiated a campaign to regain custody of their children, including an online petition by Patil accusing the public hospital of “corruption” and wrongful detainment. Following the loss of custody, the Patils approached the Indian Consulate in Sydney in July 2023.
Priyadarshini Patil returned to India earlier this month, deeply distressed and losing hope of reuniting with her children. Tragically, her body was discovered in the backwaters of the Malaprabha river in Belagavi district on August 20, prompting further concerns about the circumstances that led to her untimely demise.
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