Runaway girl complains her mom 'does nothing normal mothers do'

The Vikhroli police have a rather unusual case on hand - that of a minor girl who ran away from home for a third time. Though she has been found again, the cops are worried that she might run away yet again, and that the next time they may not be as lucky in tracing her.

The 11-year-old student of St Joseph's School ran away from her home in Vikhroli on November 17. A stranger noticed her looking disoriented and took her to the police in Vikhroli on Thursday. She told the police she had run away as her mother ill-treats her and doesn't even give her food.

"She does not give me proper food and does nothing that normal mothers do. She also ill-treats me a lot," the girl told the police.

She explained that her father leaves in the morning and returns only at night. "On several occasions, I've gone to an aunt's house and had lunch. My mother just doesn't keep any food for me," the child complained.

She also said that her parents quarrel a lot, and that it disturbs her. The girl's father works for an IT firm, while the mother runs a beauty parlour at Vashi.

The police said that the parents had separated for a year and a half, and that the girl was in custody of her mother. However, a couple of years ago, the parents reconciled and began living together again. "I do not love my wife, but patched up just so that my daughter could have both her parents' love and affection," the father said. He added that the child, however, often complained of ill-treatment at the hands of her mother.

Over the last three days, the drama has been unfolding at the police station. "As of now we have sent the family back home and strictly warned the couple to not fight in front of the child. We have also told the mother to treat the child properly, or else she might run away or do something even more drastic," said Inspector Ravikant Malekar, who is handling the case at Vikhroli Police Station. He added that the father has been asked to take a month's leave to take care of his daughter.

Meanwhile, the girl's father has filed a case against his wife for taking away his cash and credit cards. "We can initiate action against the wife. But it is not yet a criminal case. As it will affect the minor girl, it will have to be dealt with very tactfully and delicately," said Malekar.

The Bombay Catholic Sabha (BCS) too has stepped in to help. "We have offered to take the child and her parents for counselling. We have also asked the police to tackle the case tactfully but sternly," said Robert D'souza, vice-chairman of BCS, whose members are keeping a watch at the girl's house to prevent things getting out of hand.

When confronted, the father said, "Let me sort things out once and for all this time." He refused to comment further. His wife was unavailable for comment.

The Previous Instance

There have been two occasions in the past when the 11-year-old ran away. The first was a year ago. On the second day she was found in Tagore Nagar, Vikhroli, by a member of the Bombay Catholic Sabha who said, "She was just loitering around the area."

The second occasion was barely two months ago, when she hopped into a rickshaw and told the driver to follow another rickshaw, which he did till Ghatkopar. "The child wanted to get off at Ghatkopar, but the driver suspected something fishy and brought her to Vikhroli Police Station," said an officer.