Both kids in Australian govt custody, upset NRI techie mother ends life

DHARWAD: A 45-year-old woman IT engineer from Dharwad, hurt and frustrated that her ailing teenage son and daughter were in the custody of Australian government and she could not bring them back to India, committed suicide by jumping into the Malaprabha river near Naviluteertha in Savadatti taluk of Belagavi district last week.
Sources said Priyadarshini Patil, daughter of retired professor SS Desai and Shobha, residents of Saptapur in Dharwad, married Lingaraj Patil of Kalyan Nagar of Dharwad.The couple - both software engineers - settled in Sydney, Australia, after securing jobs there.
They have a son, Amartya, 17, and a daughter, Aparajita,13. Both children are Australian citizens by birth.
According to family sources, Amartya developed health issues and was treated by doctors in Australia. Since the treatment did not help Amartya recover on the expected lines, Priyadarshini filed a complaint against those doctors in Australia.
On the basis of her complaint, Australian authorities charged Priyadarshini with not taking proper care of the children and took both children - son and daughter -- under their custody citing local laws on protection of children.
Hurt by these developments, Priyadarshini tried to bring her children to Dharwad, but her efforts failed as laws in Australia did not allow the children to exit the country.
On August 18, Priyadarshini flew to Bengaluru alone. She had booked a bus ticket to Dharwad on August 19 and but did not board that bus.
"She took another bus, reached Hubballi and went to a courier office. She had packed all her money and jewellery in a bag and asked the courier services to send it to her father's address. She had reportedly kept a letter in the bag. Priyadarshini had reportedly informed the courier office staff that she was heading towards Gokak in Belagavi district," a source said.
When Priyadarshini did not reach home at the scheduled time, her anxious parents informed police.
On August 20, Priyadarshini, instead of going to Gokak, went to Munavalli in Savadatti taluk in a bus from Hubballi and got down there. She walked along the Malaprabha and jumped into the river near Naviluteertha dam in the afternoon, said a family member.
Her decomposed body was found in the evening in the backwaters of Malaprabha in Renuka Sagar.
"Since she had brought the passports of her children along with her, the children could not travel to India. Her husband, Lingaraj, 45, reached Dharwad after which the last rites were performed," a relative said.
Former mayor Iresh Anchatageri, who is related to the couple, said Priyadarshini's family was planning to return to India for good and the couple had job offers from several companies.