Man comes from Saudi to seek custody of grandchildren

An old man, whose son is in judicial custody for allegedly murdering his wife, has approached family court in the city to seek custody of his grandsons.

In his application, Mansur Ahmed Ansari, who used to work in Saudi Arabia, has said that in the absence of his son Shabbir Ansari, he should be granted custody of his grandchildren. The application filed in March this year says that since he was abroad, he could not meet his grandchildren for a long time. Ansari prayed before the court that when he came back to the country, the grandchildren were already in the custody of his brother-in-law and mother-in-law.

Mansur Ahmed Ansari said in his application that he had not met his grandchildren for many years and when he and his wife approached the in-laws to see the grandchildren, they were not allowed by them. He has also prayed before the court that he should also not be prevented from offering any gift to the children.

Along with the application, a declaration was also filed by Shabbir Ansari through lawyer KG Sheikh in which Shabbir declared that his children Anas (4) and Arshad (3) were taken into custody by the in-laws when he and his father were absent. He also said that he had no objection if his children were handed over to Mansur Ahmed.

According to case details, a complaint was filed by Ashraf Ali Ansari, brother of Ansari’s wife Akhtarbanu, at Bapunagar police station in November 2007 after Akhtarbanu was found dead in her home. In his complaint, Ashraf Ali alleged that Shabbir had strangulated his wife after he grew suspicious of his wife’s alleged illicit affair. Shabbir was chargesheeted and convicted for life in January 2009. The conviction was challenged in the Gujarat high court through lawyer KG Sheikh which is still pending. Shabbir’s bail plea was also rejected by the high court.