Sushma Swaraj concerned over missing Indian 3-year-old in the US

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has expressed concern over the whereabouts of a missing Indian girl-child in the United States, adding that the Indian Embassy is “actively involved” in the massive efforts launched by the American police to locate the girl, three year-old Sherin Mathews.

The girl was adopted by parents hailing from Kerala and, according to a media report cited by the minister, was originally from Bihar.

Her original name was Saraswati and she had reportedly been adopted by the couple from an NGO in Bihar’s Nalanda district.

Ms. Swaraj also cited another media report that said the police in the US had deployed drones, helicopters besides sniffer dogs on the ground to search for the girl and had possibly unearthed some evidence from under a tree near the house.

“We are deeply concerned about the missing child. The Indian Embassy in the US is actively involved and they keep me informed,” Ms. Swaraj tweeted in response to a woman who asked her what action the Indian Government had taken on the child’s whereabouts in the US.

The girl disappeared on October 7 in Richardson in the US after being made to stand at 3 am as a punishment by her “father” Wesley Mathews for not finishing her glass of milk.

According to some media reports from the US, Mathews was subsequently arrested by the police there on October 7 and charged with abandoning or endangering a child. He was reportedly released on $250,000 bond late at night on October 8, according to the local police there.