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Indian boy dumped in London to return home within weeks
Shekhar Bhatia27 Mar 2009
A boy abandoned in London by his mother a year ago could return to his family in India within weeks.
Gurinder Singh, 11, who spoke no English, was found sitting on his own in a health clinic in Southall, sparking a police investigation.
Today it emerged that Gurinder's mother, who police believe could have been an illegal immigrant, dumped him before she ran off with her lover.
Gurinder's relatives have been tracked down to a village in the north of India and, after a year living with a foster family in west London, he could be heading home in time for his 12th birthday on 21 April.
His uncle Kuldeep Singh, a Punjabi farmer, is taking action through the Indian and English courts to adopt his nephew. In a telephone call to his uncle, Gurinder begged to go home as soon as he could.
Ealing social services, which took care of Gurinder, has written to Mr Singh saying he has been "positively assessed" as the next of kin.
Mr Singh's lawyer, Hajinder Singh, said: "The entire episode is a very sad one, but thankfully it is coming to an end very shortly. We now know that Gurinder's mother left her child at a gurudwara (temple) in Southall and made off with her lover.
"The whereabouts of Gurinder's father is not known and I understand the boy's mother had worked for a time as a shop assistant in London using a different name.
"There have been several court hearings here in the Punjab and also in the High Court in London last week. My client is very happy that Ealing social services have agreed to allow him to adopt the child, where he will grow up with his cousins. The boy spoke with his uncle last week and was crying that he wanted to come home to India as quickly as possible.
"I have to return to the court here next month and file papers asking if there are any objections to Mr Kuldeep Singh adopting the child. This is the parents' last chance to claim the child before legal adoption."
Gurinder will live with Mr Singh, 50, his wife and children on their farm in Hoshiarpur, about 100 miles from Chandigarh, the Punjabi state capital.
Police believe Gurinder's mother may have fled to France after leaving him, in Britain's biggest Sikh neighbourhood, while they think his father is living in Germany.
They say both might be guilty of flouting EU immigration laws, the reason why Gurinder was abandoned and why they failed to claim him. Police are also investigating whether Gurinder may have been a victim of illegal trafficking.
An Ealing council source said: "Everyone feels for this little lad, who has had little schooling and understands very little around him. He is anxious to get back to the Punjab, but he has been very well cared for by his foster family who will miss him."
Reader views (4)
yes Mr. Spratt, unfortunately "this is one story among thousands" but kudos to your country for seeing this from humane angle and sparing no efforts to reunite the child with rightful guardians and not washing hands off. It is shameful but in our country some still consider england to be may be the only land on this earth )of opportunities and stoop to any level to get an entry. Mr. Roz atleast the child gets to be home. in some countries he might be in juevenile court
- Dolly, Delhi, india, 27/03/2009 17:28
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Doesn't it seem a long time ago when politicians from the sub continent would regularly lecture us on all the iniquities of the old Empire and how they would run things that much better. Their citizens evidently didn't believe them and soon followed their former masters to the island of free money.
- Fred, Horsham, 27/03/2009 14:59
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Poor kid could have been with his family a year earlier if the UK processes for dealing with children were not so painfully slow: the effects on his education will be with him for the rest of his life. Good on his Uncle for stepping in where his parents failed him.
- Roz, Chamonix, France, 27/03/2009 14:33
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This is one story among thousands. Ask any social services departments how many foreign children they are caring for that have just been dumped here under the pretext of asylum and you will get a shock.
- Jack Spratt, Richmond, England, 27/03/2009 10:54
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