Anupama Chandran’s 13 month ordeal ends after baby is restored to her

It took nine months for Anupama S Chandran to deliver her baby, but she had to fight for 13 months for the baby to be back in her arms.

It was a traumatising experience for Chandran, when her parents snatched her baby, as she carried it from the hospital after giving birth to a son on October 1, 2020. That was the last she saw of the baby, till the baby brought back after 13 months.

Her parents’ behaviour came as a shock to Chandran, as the whole family has been with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)]. The parents were opposed to the birth of the child, fathered by Ajith Kumar, her partner and a leader of the party’s student wing Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and she was with the youth wing, Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI). Ajith Kumar was then married to another lady.

The parents tried hard to get their daughter to abort the pregnancy, but failed in their efforts due to her assertiveness. When the snatched the baby from her arms, three days after he was born, the parents told her that the baby would be kept away till her sister’s marriage. But that did not happen and Chandran was not told where her baby was.

During her pregnancy, Chandran had twice tested positive to COVID 19, including at the time of the delivery.

The family matter took a political turn and Chandran and Kumar was expelled from their respective organisations.  

Unable to trace her baby. Chandran wrote to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), but seeing the delay in action by CWC, Chandran decided to make her matter public. She and Kumar also sat outside the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare (KSCCW), leading to the intervention of state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is also the president of KSCCW. Vijayan ordered that the custody of the child should be resorted with the couple.

By this time, the baby was given to an Andhra Pradesh couple in adaptation.

On Wednesday, the CWC stated that the DNA tests of the couple and the baby confirmed that they are the parents of the baby. After this, the baby was brought back from the Andhra Pradesh couple and the custody was given to Chandran.