THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finally, Britain has come to the rescue of Anna Mathews. Nearly two months after her estranged English husband Tom alias James Robert Pierce sneaked out of India with their four-year-old son using forged documents, a British court has ordered Mr Pierce to hand over the child back to Anna. Anna, who is now in London, has secured custody of the child. She is expected to reach here on February 27. Whether Mr Pierce will be extradited is still not clear. On January 5, the High Court had passed an order directing the DGP to arrest Mr Pierce and hand over the child to Anna.
Later, the court asked that Mr Pierce be produced before February 2. But by then, he had reached Britain. Mr Pierce had been living in the state for the last 10 years on a tourist visa; he was running a fast food joint in Mattancherry, Kochi. Anna and Pierce had been living separately for some time. A family court had granted Anna the custody of their son Samuel, four years old. Mr Pierce then petitioned the High Court and got custody of the child for six days in December 26. Before the deadline closed, he managed to leave the country.
Police sources said he left for Kathmandu from Mattancherry in a two-wheeler. Mr Pierce’s mobile was switched off but police could track signals when he was in Goa, Madhya Pradesh, and also near the Chinese border in Kathmandu. Since the child’s and his passports were in the custody of the High Court, Mr Pierce had managed to get a police report stating that his documents went missing. Using this, he secured fresh passports from the British Embassy in Kathmandu. Once in Britain, he was pulled up for forgery. Soon, Anna received a call from the British Embassy offering all help. She was offered the legal services of Reunite International, UK's leading charity specialising in the movement of children across international borders.
