Seven-year-old Aditya Chandran, born to an NRI couple in New York, remained deprived of studies for more than two years, caught in a bitter battle between his parents for his custody.

His mother Vijayasree Voora, who allegedly brought him to India illegally in 2007 despite State of New York Supreme Court giving joint custody, had been hiding at various places in the country — just to avoid his father, Dr Ravi Chandran, meeting him.

After the police failed to trace them for over two years, the case was handed over to the CBI. On Saturday, a CBI team traced Vijayasree with Aditya in a rented house in Chennai. The two were brought to Delhi and produced before Justice Tarun Chatterjee at his house. They have been kept in a guesthouse in Delhi. When he was found, Aditya was very subdued, said an official.

The mother and child will be produced in the apex court on Tuesday where Aditya’s father will be present. “His main goal in life is custody of his child. His work has been getting affected for the last two years as he has been off and on coming to India to look for his son,” said Pinky Anand, Ravi Chandran’s counsel.

Ravi Chandran, a pharmaceutical scientist in Florida, and Vijayasree, an IT professional, got married in Tirupati in December 2000 but their marriage got dissolved in 2005 in New York. The couple had problems over custody of Aditya, who was just two.

Vijayasree brought Aditya to India in June 2007 allegedly without informing the New York court or Ravi Chandran, despite the fact that she was legally bound to do so. Ravi Chandran contacted the Indian authorities and filed a Habeas Corpus petition for production of his son before the apex court and his restoration to him. He even provided inputs about possible places where Vijayasree may be.

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