The Indian government has decided to cancel the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards of Indian American foster parents of Sherin Mathews, who was found dead in a culvert near her home in Texas last year. Some friends and relatives of Mathews couple will also lose their OCI status.
Quoting Anupam Ray, Counsel General of India in Houston, press agency PTI said that India is cancelling the OCI cards of Wesley Mathews and his wife Sini Mathews. Some relatives and close friends of the couple will also face similar action.
He said that travel of these people to India is not in public interest as public opinion about them is not favorable.
the report quoted Ray as saying, “India has not forgotten this little child and in public interest, the Consulate will recommend their names for insertion in the ‘Blacklist’ maintained by the Government of India at the earliest.“
Meanwhile, Manoj N Abraham and Nissy T Abraham, friends of the accused couple, have already received a notice of cancellation of their OCI cards. They have challenged the decision in Delhi High Court.
“It has come to the knowledge of the Consulate through diplomatic and privileged sources that Manoj Abraham and Nissy T Abraham have been in close contact with the adoptive parents of Sherin Mathews before, during and after the murder,” the news agency quoted Ray as telling.
Abraham’s cooperation could have helped in getting details related to circumstances of the brutal murder, he added.
Sherin Mathews was adopted by the U.S. based Malayali couple, Wesley and Sini Mathews, from an orphanage in Bihar in 2016. The girl was reported missing on Oct.7 in 2017 by Wesley.
Her body was later found in a culvert under a road near her home in Richardson, Texas. The details for cause of death for the girl remain unknown as her body was badly decomposed when found. However, the autopsy concluded that she died because of homicidal violence.
Sherin’s father Initially told police that he had punished by making her stand out of her house for not drinking milk. He later changed his statement and said that Sherin choked on the milk when he was feeding her.
Wesley faces serious charges like capital murder, injury to child and tampering with evidence, while his wife was indicted with charge of abandoning a child.