Woman with AIDS fights for son

November 24, 2001

The Delhi Age 24 November, 2001-New Delhi

Mumbai, Nov.23: A 40-year-old woman tested HIV positive has been fighting to

gain custody of her one-and-a-half-year-old son, Sachin, from her niece, who

acted as his custodian between February and March 2001, while the woman looked

after her elder son who was recovering from a kidney ailment at St.

Hospital.

The mother, Jasu Jagdish solanki, who works as a sweeper in fort, resides with

her elder son, five-year-old Dashrath, on a pavement in the neighboring alley.

Speaking to The Asian Age, Ms Solanki said: " Dasrath was suffering from a kidney

ailment and he was admitted to St. Hospital for treatment on February 19.

I used to leave Sachin on the pavement but would always worry about him in the

hospital, since he was alone and there was no one to look after him. Sachin's

Aunt and my niece, Billu, offered to take care of him and she look him to her

house. During Dashrath's treatment, Billu also took my thumb impression on a

blank paper. "

Ms Solanki said that when she went to fetch Sachin on March 20, after Dasharth

was discharged from the hospital, Billu refused to part with him. Billu and her

husband lured Ms Solanki into giving her son away by telling her that they would

buy a house and a television set for her. On refusal, they did not even let her

meet Sachin and asked her to go to her native place in Navsari. Ms Solanki has

not approached the police. She said: " Billu's husband might bribe them and they

may chase me off the pavement. Where will I go? My husband died of AIDS two

years ago. Who will fall in the legal wrangle in his absence? Will i go to the

course or fend for my family? "

Pereira, a social worker in the area, who is helping Ms Solanki to get

custody of her son, said that Billu does not have a child and secondly, they

have given neither her room nor the television. Instead, they are threatening

her and asking her to leave town. Mr. Perrier said, " Billu told Ms Solanki that

she had legally adoption. She got scared and now allows Ms Solanki to meet

Sachin. "

Sachin's elder brother Dashrath, who misses his younger sibling, said: " I miss

him. I will take care of him and study. But please bring him here. "

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Jagdish Harsh ( jharsh@... )

François-Xavier Bagnoud (INDIA) ( www.fxb.org )

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