KUALA LUMPUR – Former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Hamid Bador told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that he instructed his subordinates to do whatever it took to solve the case of M. Indira Gandhi.
During today’s ongoing trial of a RM100 million suit brought by Indira against him and three others, Hamid stressed that he was personally invested in the case, especially seeing that he is a parent and a father.
“I deeply sympathised with Indira’s plight. She is a mother… I am a father and I know how it feels when you lose sight of your child, let alone not knowing their whereabouts.
“During my time as the IGP, I have personally sent my officers to meet her, to convince her to meet me. That was how committed I was to solving this case.
“All I want is for the case to have a happy ending, for both parties… especially for Indira’s daughter to be returned to her arms,” he told judge Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan.
He told the court that the police worked hard in solving this case, including seeking assistance from the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol).
Hamid served as IGP from May 2019 to May 2021.
During cross-examination, Hamid told Indira’s lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan that the force, including him, never laxed in handling the investigation to locate Indira’s ex-husband K. Pathmanathan, who later converted to Islam and now goes by the name Muhammad Riduan.
“The police force and I were never malicious and negligent in our investigation to arrest.
“(In fact) efforts are still ongoing to track Pathmanathan until today, despite I have left the force,” he said.
He confirmed to the court that checks with the Immigration Department in 2014 showed that Pathmanathan had left the country and that in 2019, there was a sighting of Pathmanathan in southern Thailand, following which Hamid ordered his officers to get a ‘positive sighting’ of Indira’s ex-husband.
“My instruction to the officers was clear, which is to intensify efforts to track Pathmanathan and return their daughter to Indira, as per the court’s mandamus order.
“I even told the officers to do whatever it takes, so long that the mandamus order can be fulfilled.”
A mandamus order is a court’s order that compels government officials to properly fulfil their duties or correct an abuse of discretion.
However, Hamid admitted to Rajesh that any updates regarding the investigation’s progress, which he then conveyed to the media, were based on information from his subordinates.
Indira filed the suit on October 28, 2020, naming Hamid, the police, the Home Ministry and the government as the defendants, respectively.
In the suit, Indira claimed that Hamid, during his tenure as IGP, and the remaining defendants had committed the tort of nonfeasance, or intentionally neglecting to carry out their duty, while in public office.
In her statement of claim, Indira detailed how the defendants had committed negligence and misconduct when they failed to take the necessary steps to apprehend her ex-husband.
She also stated her suffering of anxiety from constantly worrying over her daughter’s safety and well-being and is seeking RM100 million in general, exemplary and aggravated damages against all the defendants.
Indira also claimed that the defendants deliberately and negligently disregarded the Federal Court’s mandamus order that was issued in 2016, which directed the defendants to apprehend her ex-husband and retrieve her daughter to be returned to her. – February 5, 2024