New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Friday expressed grave concern over the disappearance of a Russian woman and her child amid an ongoing custody battle with her estranged Indian husband. Victoria Basu, a Russian national, and her four-and-a-half-year-old child have been missing since July 7. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati informed the bench that a lookout circular has been issued and that the government is in contact with the Russian Embassy.
“She did not leave the country using legal channels,” Bhati said. She also mentioned that the woman’s last known financial transaction was on July 6 and that her Canara Bank account now shows a balance of only Rs 169. “She has frugal means… She may have gone somewhere on foot,” the ASG stated. The bench replied, “She may not have travelled by air, but there are other means.”
It directed the police to gather information from all major railway stations and transport hubs to determine whether she was still in the National Capital Region or had left. “They need to be found immediately,” the bench stressed. In its latest affidavit, Delhi Police said it has issued appropriate directions as per the court’s July 17 order. Police visited the woman’s last known rented address on May 22 and have since deployed personnel at key locations in and around the Defence Colony area.
Authorities have also reached out to Instagram and Gmail seeking access to her digital activity, the court was told. The woman’s maternal grandmother could not be contacted. The custody dispute dates back to an earlier court directive, which gave the father 20 hours a day with the child and the mother the remaining four hours, a schedule later modified to alternate three and four-day custody each week.
Saikat Basu approached the court again earlier this month, alleging that Victoria had vanished with the child and was seen entering the Russian Embassy’s back gate with luggage, reportedly accompanied by an embassy official. He expressed fears that the two may have left India.