Death of Indian woman and children in Ireland: Indication that video footage is crucial

DUBLIN: On October 28, 2012, an Indian woman died in Ireland. Savita Halappanavar (31), who was admitted to the hospital while pregnant, died of a heart attack. But it was initially reported as a normal death. Savita was nearly 17 weeks pregnant. Savita was taken to the hospital after a physical ailment, and later she died.

Savitha’s death was reported that day on a single Indian news portal, ‘Irish Malayali’.

Her husband and family from Belgaum, Karnataka, India, claimed that the hospital authorities were careless and that Savita was not allowed to have an abortion due to her religious circumstances in Ireland. Following this, the Irish government was forced to re-investigate Savita’s death, as not only the people of Ireland but also many people around the world raised their voices in the streets and in positions of authority.

Two weeks after, the correspondent of the Irish Times, Kitty Holland made headlines on the front page of the newspaper, the Irish people demanded that the cause of Savita’s death be revealed.

The inquiry found that the cause of Savita’s death was septicemia, not that she was denied permission to have an abortion. However, the investigation found negligence on the part of the hospital authorities and the HSE and, as a result, the HSE was forced to pay millions in compensation.

The government was even ready to change the abortion policy in Ireland, citing the cause of the death of Savita, who was probably to be buried in a grave in Galway without anyone knowing it.

And now, Garda is being forced to unravel the cause of death of Seema Banu and her two children who arrived in Ireland from Savitha Halappanavar’s same Indian state, Karnataka. The authorities cannot ignore the demand of Seema Banu’s family.

Seema’s parents, who are elderly, feel from the investigation so far that their daughter has been denied justice. Therefore, family members do not want to give up the fight for justice.

The Gardai are still trying to unravel the mystery surrounding the deaths of Seema and her children at their home in Llewellyn Court in Ballinteer, South Dublin. As part of the investigation, Garda is reviewing calls from the days immediately preceding death.

Same place, same date!

Seema Banu (37), daughter Asfira Riza (11) and son Faizan Syed (6) were found dead on October 28, the anniversary of Savita Halappanavar’s death. All three were found strangled to death.

Garda is trying to figure out whether Seema killed herself after she killed her children, or whether someone else killed all three of them. No pathological evidence has been found yet to support the investigation. Meanwhile, a knot was found near Seema Banu’s body.

Shortly before her death, Ms. Banu had lodged a complaint against a man with Garda. She had also obtained a court order directing her to keep the man away from him. (Although the Gardai did not officially disclose the identity of the accused (according to the Irish way of investigation), circumstantial evidence shows that Seema Banu had no close connection with anyone other than her husband).

In a video call with her family in India, Ms. Banu shared the details of the case. Ms. Banu says her life is in danger and she wants to return home as soon as possible. The family had recorded the call and later they sent it to Garda. Garda sources confirmed that the video footage was crucial in the investigation.

The family believes that Seema will never commit suicide. The matter was reported to the Garda through the family liaison officer. Garda collected information from Banu’s elderly parents and brother via video call. They explained the mindset and behaviour of Seema before her death.

The family revealed that Ms. Banu was extremely sad. They also told Garda that she recently showed family members the scars of physical violence in a video call.

The Gardai continues to conduct a thorough investigation to bring out the truth.

Ms. Banu and his children were buried together last week at Newcastle Cemetery in Dublin. Her husband Sameer Syed and Indian Ambassador Sandeep Kumar were also present for the funeral ceremony. Seema’s family watched the funeral via a webcam from their home in Halaganahalli, India.

Seema Banu’s family had requested that the bodies be brought back home. But the family’s wish was unfulfilled, as Sameer wanted to bury the dead without delay and preserve the Islamic tradition.

Ms. Banu was married 13 years ago to software engineer Sameer Syed. They lived in Dubai before arriving in Ireland last February. Asfira and Faizan were educated at the local Ballinteer Educate Together National School.

As in the case of Savita, it is necessary to check whether there has been any negligence on the part of the authorities.

It is learned that Seema Banu had approached the Irish authorities asking them to save her from being brutally assaulted. Seema was unable to seek the help of anyone in the COVID situation, especially those living nearby in Ireland.

However, locals and friends in Halaganahalli hope that the real cause of the death of Seema and her innocent children will be found and that the guilty will be punished.