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Father of autistic girl who ran away to India holds NZ government responsible

After Jessica Doody’s return from India, her father wants to know how the New Zealand government allowed her autistic daughter to travel out of the country under a new name and a new passport.

Jessica Doody (left) and Craig Doody (right)

Jessica Doody (left) and Craig Doody (right) Source: Supplied

Craig Doody isn’t the kind of man who would give up easily, which is why he travelled all the way to India to look for his missing autistic daughter who has now safely returned to her home in Christchurch in New Zealand.

24-year-old Jessica Doody had run away to her boyfriend in India after changing her identity and obtaining a new passport on March 16th.

Ms Doody who is reported to have a mental age of a 14-year-old somehow even managed to bypass a ban that had been imposed on her by the court on the insistence of her family to prevent her from travelling outside New Zealand.

Determined to reunite with her boyfriend Gurdeep Singh, alias Garry Anttal whom she had met in her hometown of Christchurch two years ago, Ms Doody severed all ties with her family and fled to Patiala, in southeastern Punjab, to live with him.  

Craig Doody, who has now been reunited with his daughter after she was put on a plane by her boyfriend’s family is desperately looking for answers.

He has approached the Canterbury Police seeking a police investigation to find out how his daughter was allowed to leave the country despite a travel ban.

He has alleged that the New Zealand government and the agencies did not help him at all in his rescue mission.

Speaking to the New Zealand Herald, Mr Doody said, "I'm actually disgusted to be a New Zealand citizen.”

"Here was a most vulnerable person conned into getting taken to India, with a total loss of contact, and the New Zealand Government didn't do anything to get her back. None of the New Zealand agencies talked to each other on this. It's a total failure of the Government and the various agencies. Everyone has let Jessica down and need to be held accountable. It's absolutely horrific."-Craig Doody told the NZ Herald.

Meanwhile, Mr Doody has also lodged a police complaint against Gurdeep Singh in India alleging that he is still stalking his daughter on social media and is trying to harass her.

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2 min read

Published

By Avneet Arora



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