"Congolese" Girl Sania's Future Uncertain

With her mother butchered by her father, her father cooling his heels in jail, and her maternal and paternal relatives fighting for her custody, the future of eight-year-old Sania is hanging in balance.

While her maternal grandparents and their relatives from Congo are demanding that the Hyderabad Police hand the girl over to them, her paternal grandparents are equally zealous to take care of her. The caretaking issue was then on Friday referred to the Ranga Reddy family court.

Sania is the daughter of Rupesh Kumar Mohanani, 36, and Congolese national Cynthia Vechel, who was murdered brutally by her husband on July 6. Mohanani was arrested for allegedly throttling his wife and then chopping her body into pieces and setting them ablaze.

After the incident, Sania had been staying with grandmother Leelavathi and was later shifted to a rescue home. She was on Friday produced before a court, and the police were advised to refer the case to the Ranga Reddy district family court.

It may be mentioned here that Cynthia's brothers and relatives have been staging a dharna in front of the Rajendra Nagar Police Station demanding punishment for Mohanani for the past two days.