In what comes as a major relief and victory for Anupama and Ajith, a genetic identification test or DNA test has proven that they are the biological parents of a child that was given away for adoption to a couple in Andhra Pradesh. Anupama and Ajith had given their samples on Monday, November 22, after the DNA test had been ordered by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), and was conducted at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram. “I’m extremely happy about it and hope I will get him soon. Until my demands are met, I will continue my strike. There should also be a proper enquiry against all who were behind this," Anupama told TNM.
Anupama had given birth to a baby boy on October 19, 2020, and the child had been given up for adoption by her parents without her consent. This was because Anupama was unmarried during the time and her parents did not approve of her relationship with Ajith. According to Anupama, her parents told her that they would accept the relationship once Anupama's sister's wedding was over. However, they seperated Anupama from her child and abandoned it at an electronic cradle.
The child was then put up in foster care with a couple in Andhra Pradesh. Anupama had alleged that her parents kidnapped her baby soon after his birth and gave him up for adoption through the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare (KSCCW) a year ago. A family court stayed the adoption based on Anupama’s petition. After this, the CWC had instructed that the child be brought back to Kerala. Anupama’s battle was not a simple one — she did not receive any help from the Kerala police, child welfare authorities, CPI(M) politicians or the government.
Watch TNM's Dhanya Rajendran explain the entire story
Anupama’s allegation that her child was forcibly taken away from her by her father, a local CPI(M) leader, triggered a political controversy in the state. The government had announced a departmental probe into the incident. The Peroorkkada police has said a case was registered against six people — Anupama’s parents, sister, sister’s husband, and two of her father's friends — and that the delay happened as they were awaiting legal opinion.
After there was no headway in the probe, Anupama began a sit-in protest in front of the KSCCW office, demanding action against the officials of the Council and also the CWC for taking her child away ‘illegally’.
A four-member team from Kerala had reached Andhra Pradesh on Saturday, and on Sunday late night, amid tight security, the team brought back the child. The CWC on November 18 had issued an order directing the KSCCW to bring the child to Kerala.
Anupama had earlier shared that they have named the child Aiden Anu Ajith, and that they will ask for a CBI probe into the issue.
Watch TNM’s interview with Anupama: