Indian-Origin Woman's Suicide Amid Custody Battle With Australia For Her Children

Priyadarshini Patil, 40, a NRI from Australia, died by suicide last week and her death has focused attention on the fate of her two children, Australian citizens, who are the subjects of a child custody battle in that country.

The tragic death by suicide last week of Priyadarshini Patil, a 40-year-old Indian-origin woman from Australia, and her family's battle for custody of her two children has once again highlighted child custody cases in foreign countries involving Indian or Indian-origin parents. Ms Patil, found dead in Karnataka's Belagavi on August 27, had been fighting for custody of her children for nearly three years. This was after New South Wales officials accused Ms Patil and her husband of "improper care" and separated the children - both Australian citizens.

Ms Patil returned to India earlier this month - to help her father deal with situation. A week later she died by suicide, leaving behind a suicide note blaming some neighbours and the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice for ruining her family and her life.

Ms Patil, who worked in the IT sector, and her husband were unhappy with treatment provided for one of her children, who media reports indicate suffers from ulcerative colitis - an inflammatory bowel disease causing inflammation and ulcers in the digestive tract.