KCR’s adopted daughter cut off from world
She (C Pratyusha) is gradually recovering from the trauma she had undergone two years ago. We have strict instructions from the government not to allow anybody to meet her till she completes her course and settles down in her life.
When the office of Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao released pictures of a ‘happy’ C Pratyusha - a girl rescued from her allegedly abusive parents two years ago and eventually adopted by the CM- it seemed that the her life had turned for the better.
While authorities claim that the 19-year-old is living happily at the Vijaya Mary College of Nursing, where she is pursuing graduation, HT found that Pratyusha has been confined to the college premises and forced to live under the constant vigil of the Women Development and Child Welfare (WD&CW) department officials.
Except the district and department authorities, no one else has access to her. Although Pratyusha is now an adult, the state authorities are still preventing her from meeting others.
“She is gradually recovering from the trauma she had undergone two years ago. We have strict instructions from the government not to allow anybody to meet her till she completes her course and settles down in her life,” WD&CW additional joint director Lalitha Kumari told HT. “After all, she was adopted by the chief minister who is taking personal care.”
Andhra Pradesh Child Rights Association president P Achyut Rao, who was instrumental in rescuing Pratyusha from her parents, said preventing her from meeting people, including media, was a gross violation of her rights. “She can be given proper protection, if she faces any threat. But nobody can prevent her from meeting media or anybody else she wants,” he said.
Pratyusha was rescued in 2015 after her neighbours alerted child rights activists about the alleged torture she was subjected to by her stepmother and father, who were later arrested by the police.
Moved by her plight, KCR declared that he was “adopting” Pratyusha as his second daughter and extended a financial aid of Rs 5 lakh to her. He directed the department officials to help in her further studies.
In July 2016, Pratyusha told the authorities that she had fallen in love with Maddileti Venkat Reddy, 29, and wanted to discontinue her studies.
Following instructions from the chief minister’s office, the authorities stopped Reddy from meeting Pratyusha . The Hyderabad high court, which registered a suo motu case against Reddy, also asked the police to not allow him to meet Pratyusha till she completed her studies.
“That is precisely why we are not allowing anybody to meet her. We don’t want anyone to disturb her at this stage, when she has a bright future. We have been counselling to focus on studies,” Kumari said.
Venkat, however, remained defiant. “I made many attempts to meet Pratyusha, but they did not allow me. But, we have been in touch over phone. Last month also, she called me and asked me to wait for another two years for the marriage,” he said.