- 2 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Every family has its secrets.
00:12Locked away behind our front doors are the hidden pasts,
00:16the buried scandals and the life-changing decisions
00:19that affect our families and our nation.
00:22The conclusion I've always had is
00:24my father is responsible for my mother's death.
00:27I've been told that I was connected to the royal family
00:30through my father and through the Prince of Wales.
00:33The Mafia.
00:35Maybe my grandfather had a bigger part to play than I thought.
00:38My brother, he just disappeared. He was gone.
00:41My dad said to us,
00:43if you honour me, I will take your life.
00:46This is a photo of your dad.
00:48I'm just blown away.
00:50Every family has a secret,
00:52uncovers the extraordinary stories behind our everyday lives.
00:56This time, adopted from India to Melbourne,
01:00siblings Priti and Prashant search dark memories.
01:03I do remember some fire ambulance,
01:06flashing lights coming to the house.
01:08Can they discover who their biological mother is
01:11and how she died?
01:12It hurts because as much as I want to remember,
01:15I can't.
01:17And Dawn Slater learns her mum's deepest secret.
01:20I said, who's this little boy?
01:22And she said, well, it's just a neighbour's child.
01:24A mother's decision that was once front page news in the British press.
01:28I have got to abandon my children.
01:30It is our only chance.
01:32Adopted siblings Priti and Prashant have been raised in an environment
01:48smooth from their birthplace.
01:50Our parents are from Italy.
01:52We identify as Italians.
01:54That's our culture.
01:55Our parents are awesome.
01:57We would never say our adultive parents.
01:59They're just our parents.
02:00While they have their own families now,
02:02they remain close and fiercely protective of each other.
02:06My sister means the world.
02:09She's been someone that will always be there for me no matter what.
02:14There's anyone that I can depend on.
02:16It's him.
02:17It's a forged from a fractured early childhood.
02:20I have very little memory of India.
02:23Most of my memories are our time spent in the orphanage.
02:27I'm India.
02:28The sound of my dad.
02:30Screaming, hitting my mum.
02:32Yeah, we do suspect our birth dad had something to do with our passing.
02:37Priti and her younger brother Prashant were born in India, adopted by Italian immigrants
02:43and raised in Australia.
02:45But the circumstances leading to their adoption have always been a deeply troubling mystery.
02:49Now Priti and Prashant are hoping to get out once and for the truth about their biological
02:55and the incident that left them abandoned in an orphanage.
02:59Hello.
03:00Hi.
03:01Hello.
03:02Welcome.
03:04Hi, Prashant.
03:05Welcome to you, Prashant.
03:06Please come in.
03:08So, let's start at the beginning.
03:11What are your memories of India?
03:13Of your home and your family?
03:15Um, my mum is like vague.
03:18But I do have my birth mum passing away.
03:21And grandmother coming to, um, get my mother at nine.
03:26No one could take care of us and no one wanted to take the responsibility of two young kids.
03:30So she decided to take us to an orphanage.
03:33Don't remember the house where you lived.
03:35I demand the sound of a train.
03:38The train tracks behind our house.
03:40A lot of my memories, I'm not sure if they're real or if they're dreams.
03:44Like things that, like yeah, things that I've made up as time went on.
03:47Okay.
03:48So how old were you when your mum passed away?
03:51So I was, I've probably been about two, around two.
03:54Yeah, so I would have been made four.
03:56I don't remember the exact date.
03:58Do you have any, any idea what might have happened to her?
04:03Um, so I remember like being with my birth mum and my birth father.
04:08And I do remember like a lot of yelling and shouting and fighting.
04:11And I think something to her.
04:13Cause I've always had this suspicion that he was responsible for her death.
04:18Because he was so abusive.
04:21If he did have something to do or murder her.
04:24Yeah.
04:25Yeah.
04:26No.
04:27Yeah.
04:28No knowledge of your dad, what happened to him or?
04:31No.
04:32So how long did you stay at the orphanage?
04:34Probably about a year and a half to two years we were there.
04:37How did the adoption come about?
04:40Initially mum and dad were after one child.
04:43Um, and I think we were at an age where we probably weren't been able to be separated.
04:49Um, and then they've asked dad, um, would you like the pair?
04:54And dad, yeah, buy one, get one free.
04:57And dad said, yeah, these are the adoption papers.
05:01Um, yeah, that's probably the only official document we have.
05:06You don't look very happy in those photos.
05:08They must be the earliest photos of you, aren't they?
05:11Yeah.
05:12Yeah.
05:13My birth father's name is listed there.
05:15Dugra Prasad Katotkara.
05:17And there's no details of your mother in there?
05:19No.
05:20No.
05:21So no, no, there's no name for her.
05:22No.
05:23I suppose you want to honour your mother by having her existence validated.
05:28Yes.
05:29Yeah.
05:30Definitely.
05:31Well, I hope we can find you some answers.
05:32Yeah.
05:33And, you know, give you some peace.
05:34Yeah.
05:35Because you've had an extraordinary journey to get here.
05:37Yeah, we have.
05:38Yeah.
05:43The questions I want answered about my birth mother, who was she?
05:48To learn my mum's name, yeah, it would mean the world to me to learn.
05:51Yeah, give me peace.
05:52Yeah.
05:53To know her name.
05:54Yeah, peace, yeah.
05:55What happened to her?
05:56Is my grandmother still alive?
05:58Or, you know, do I have aunties that are looking out there for us?
06:01Yeah.
06:02I think we have some questions.
06:03Yeah.
06:04I'd like answers too.
06:05Okay.
06:06The only clue Priti and Prashant have is their father's name, Durga Prasad Kadotka, recorded
06:12on their adoption papers.
06:14To find answers about their mother, they'll need to locate him or at least someone in his
06:19family.
06:20Yeah, he's got a good one.
06:21He's got a good one.
06:23That's all.
06:24Okay.
06:25Okay.
06:26Thank you for your time.
06:27Thank you for your time.
06:29Thank you for your time, sir.
06:30Help me.
06:32Helping them in their quest is Aneel Kumar, an Indian based private investigator.
06:35Hello, Priti and Prashant. How are you?
06:37How are you going, Anil?
06:38Anil is calling in to share his first discoveries.
06:41I have been working on your story for past few months
06:46and I have tracked down informants on the Khadodh Kars, your paternal family.
06:53There's an envelope placed in front of you.
06:56I request you please open and set it.
06:58Okay.
06:59Tracing his name through Indian records,
07:01and has learned what became of Priti and Prashant's father.
07:05So this is a newspaper article.
07:07Nagpur, 6th October 1996.
07:11Electrician's death caused drinking and chained liquor.
07:14Durga Prasad Khadodhka died at his residence
07:18due to excessive drinking of country liquor.
07:21As his sister did not open his door for a couple of days,
07:24the neighbours lodged a complaint with a police who entered the house
07:27and saw Khadodhka, who had died on the bed.
07:30The wife of the deceased had passed away already
07:33and their two children were staying in an orphanage.
07:37The deceased person was addicted to drinking
07:39and police were investigating this case.
07:44How are you?
07:45That was a lot of...
07:47A lot to take in.
07:49Yeah, it was a lot to take in.
07:51Was he even alone?
07:52Is that why no one was there to notice what happened to him?
07:57Actually, nobody was there with him.
08:00He was alone at home.
08:01Does he have family?
08:03Does he have siblings?
08:04Or parents that are still alive?
08:07There is a video of my investigation
08:10and your questions may be answered in that video.
08:13Prithian Prasant, I am standing in the 600-year-old Ram Mandir Fort and Temple
08:28that books the city of Ramtec.
08:31Ramtec is in Centralia, 50 kilometers from Nagpur,
08:34which is one of the largest cities in the state of Maharashtra.
08:37While this is an important temple in Indian history,
08:42Ramtec itself is important in your history.
08:45This is the place where both your parents grew up and were met
08:48and I have discovered
08:49some of your petrogates are still living here.
08:53I am on my way to see Amol Khadotkar.
09:01He is your cousin,
09:02the son of your father's older brother.
09:05He is of your generation.
09:07Hopefully, he knows enough about the family history
09:09to answer some of your questions.
09:12Amol, did you ever meet your uncle, Durga Prasant?
09:15Did you ever meet him?
09:16No, I remember him.
09:18I had a good memory.
09:19I met him.
09:19I mean, in our country,
09:22they wrote good books.
09:24They wrote good books,
09:25so he didn't have his name.
09:26Durga Prasant,
09:27if you remember his name,
09:29they told him about his name.
09:31After doing it,
09:33after doing it,
09:33you have to start doing it.
09:35After doing it,
09:37you have to start doing it.
09:37You have to start doing it.
09:39You have to start doing it.
09:41So they do work.
09:42Please tell me about your wife's wife. Who was she? What was her name?
09:48She was named Narmada.
09:50Narmada.
09:51She was married to her family.
09:55She didn't accept that marriage.
09:58She had no marriage not allowed.
10:04She left there.
10:06She didn't come back to Narmada.
10:09After the marriage, she would have had a lot of work.
10:12She was like,
10:14I don't want to do anything like that.
10:17She was married to Narmada.
10:20She was like, drinking and working.
10:23She was like,
10:26I don't want to do anything like that.
10:29She was married to Narmada.
10:35Prasant, how are you feeling?
10:39Bit, bit, bit sad.
10:43It's probably changed the memory I have of my dad.
10:51It seems like he was, he was a good man.
10:56An intelligent man.
11:01And he just wanted to fall in love.
11:11So when I meet your cousin Mal, I got your mother's full name.
11:17I know how important this is.
11:20Your mother's full name is Narmada Godbole.
11:24Narmada Godbole.
11:25That's lovely to know.
11:27So at least now when someone says what was your mum's name,
11:29at least I can say her name was Narmada Godbole.
11:32Godbole.
11:33It's been a long time searching for that.
11:36That answer.
11:37For that answer.
11:38That beautiful name.
11:40I am working on your story and I'll get back to you with more information.
11:47Thank you, Anil.
11:48Thank you, Anil.
11:49Yeah, we look forward to seeing you again.
11:50Bye-bye.
11:52Bye.
11:53That was a lot more than what I thought we were going to get.
11:57Learning new information that they were in love.
12:00I think my feeling about our dad has somewhat changed.
12:05Softened?
12:06Yeah.
12:07Yeah.
12:08Yeah, same.
12:09I think.
12:10I'm not sure yet.
12:11I have to wait for more information to hear about our mother's death,
12:16how she died.
12:17Same.
12:18But it still was lovely to know that they both had us.
12:24Out of love.
12:25Out of love.
12:26Out of love.
12:27Out of love.
12:28Out of love.
12:29Yeah.
12:30Before finding out about my father, not a man, an uneducated man, an abusive man.
12:41Hearing that, he's educated, he had a good job, he eloped with my mother because of
12:49that almost fit me with such a love for him.
12:54I think I still had hope of him being alive,
12:58maybe even hearing his voice or...
13:04..just seeing him.
13:07I think I'm still holding judgement
13:08because I'm unsure about what it is that happened to my mum
13:13and if he was responsible for her death.
13:16I need to know what happened to her
13:18before I can make a decision how I feel about him.
13:27In Western Australia,
13:29a childhood trauma is also at the heart of Dawn Slater's search for answers.
13:34I've got no recollection of being left at the train station.
13:38I can't imagine mum doing that
13:40because she wasn't a bad mum at all.
13:42We were separated as a family.
13:45My brother, he was the baby of the family.
13:48He just disappeared.
13:49He was gone.
13:50Dawn Slater was born in Zimbabwe
13:54and raised in the UK
13:56before making her home in South Western Australia.
13:58After her mum's death,
14:00Dawn started looking into her family's background,
14:03which led to some extraordinary discoveries.
14:06A newspaper article from 1959
14:09and an old family photo
14:10had Dawn questioning everything she knew about her mother's past
14:14and her own history.
14:15Hello.
14:16Nice to meet you.
14:17Hello.
14:18Nice to meet you.
14:19And you.
14:20So Dawn, tell me about the family that you grew up with,
14:23your immediate family.
14:24My brother, Steven.
14:25He was the oldest?
14:26Yes.
14:27Lydia.
14:28Myself.
14:29We were all born in Rhodes,
14:31now known as mum.
14:32Patricia.
14:33I never knew my father.
14:35Oh.
14:36Thomas.
14:37Mum split up.
14:38I was about five years old.
14:39Mm.
14:40And decided to go back to the UK.
14:42And this is a family photo?
14:44It is.
14:45Yes.
14:46Steven.
14:47Lydia.
14:48And myself.
14:49And four.
14:50Well, we never knew who that was.
14:52This one was part of you growing up?
14:54No, no.
14:55Not at all.
14:56I asked mum, actually.
14:57I said,
14:58who's this little boy in the picture?
14:59And she said,
15:00well, it's just a neighbour's child.
15:02But I mean,
15:03you don't have a neighbour's child in a family portrait.
15:05Did you try and press her?
15:07I don't think we'll talk about that today,
15:09you should say.
15:10That was tantalising.
15:11Well, was there something that prompted
15:13you to realise there was more to the story?
15:16You can cross this.
15:18Your sister?
15:19Yes.
15:20In a drawer, Lydia was poking at the drawers.
15:22From the Daily Thursday, March the 5th, 1915.
15:26A mother, 24,
15:28who abandoned her four children
15:30at a railway station,
15:31sobbed yesterday.
15:33She witnessed a court tussle over the future.
15:36Who would hit us?
15:37Two days,
15:38and one girls aged from four.
15:41Wow.
15:42Their mother said,
15:43she's expecting another baby.
15:45Can I have a look?
15:46Mm.
15:47So it doesn't mention any names?
15:50No.
15:51No.
15:52Why did you think it was about you?
15:53Because mum kept it,
15:54left it,
15:55and we didn't want to talk about it.
15:57But,
15:58mum just,
15:59she clammed up,
16:00didn't want to talk about it.
16:01Do you have any memory of being left at the train station?
16:05I don't remember it at all.
16:07So,
16:08there's four children
16:10that were left at the station?
16:11Yes.
16:12But had you,
16:13that made any connection between that photo
16:16and this fourth child?
16:17Well,
16:18because we'd read this,
16:19and it stated there was four.
16:21And the ages were right?
16:22Yeah.
16:23Yeah.
16:24Just assumed,
16:25ah, this must be my brother.
16:26So,
16:27What happened to him?
16:28I don't know.
16:29Texted,
16:30I'm gonna stop.
16:31Find his,
16:32what's happened to him.
16:33And how much did you have?
16:34His name was on this,
16:36list that I found.
16:38Oh, so,
16:39tell me about the list.
16:40This was a passenger list.
16:42When we came back on the ship from,
16:44Rhodesia.
16:46Put my glasses on.
16:47So, this is you going back to it?
16:50Yeah.
16:51There's Patricia, your mum.
16:52Mm-hmm.
16:53Steve,
16:54Lydia,
16:55Dawn,
16:56and then James.
16:58James.
16:59Whoa.
17:00So, that was the first time you saw a name?
17:01Yes.
17:02I was just so pleased to find something with his name on.
17:05Yes.
17:06You know.
17:07To prove he was real.
17:08Yeah, yeah.
17:09So, somewhere there's a brother.
17:10Who we've never known.
17:11And who I want to find.
17:12There's something that happened to him.
17:13Did he die?
17:14Or what?
17:15Yes.
17:16And to find out what happened to
17:18whoever your brother was pregnant with.
17:19Yes.
17:20What would it be to you, Dawn,
17:21if we could find them?
17:22It would be.
17:23Yeah.
17:24Well, I really wish you luck.
17:25I really hope it brings you the piss that you're after.
17:27Yeah.
17:30Dawn remembers that she, Steven, and Lydia
17:33lived apart from their mum for a couple of their childhood years.
17:36But she's never known the reason behind this family split
17:40and the disappearance of her baby brother, James.
17:43Family historian Lorraine Clark has looked into what happened
17:46that fateful day at the train station.
17:48Dawn, do you think you know what train station it was?
17:51No, but, um, I'd love to know, yeah.
17:54It's Victoria Station in central London.
17:56Wow.
17:57Big station.
17:58The busiest station in London.
17:59Yeah.
18:00We have a researcher in London, Brad Argent,
18:02and he's done some research about that day you were abandoned.
18:06I sent a video message for you.
18:09Hi, Dawn.
18:10We're here in Victoria Station, central London.
18:14And it was here on a chilly Wednesday morning in February 1959
18:20that your mother bought you, your older brother and sister,
18:24and younger brother, James.
18:26She asked the passengers if they would kindly keep on you
18:29while she went off to buy some tickets.
18:32The minutes passed.
18:35The waiting passengers grew anxious.
18:38Your mother hadn't returned.
18:40Somebody decided to go and seek the station police.
18:45But honest to them, your mother had already called
18:49to say that she had left you all at the station.
18:56How do you feel about finding it out?
18:59I felt a bit emotional.
19:01My poor mum, she must have been off and just that,
19:04just being excited, knowing what she's doing.
19:07James was part of that.
19:09Part of that, then.
19:10He was.
19:11I remember him.
19:12But no, there's nothing there.
19:15Trying to spark some memories,
19:17Lorraine showed on how the incident played out in the press.
19:21Oh, wow.
19:22Your abandonment may use a fascination.
19:25That's unbelievable, isn't it?
19:28The Daily Mirror.
19:30Wow.
19:31The sad-faced little boy,
19:33Issa Stevenloff,
19:35Abandoned.
19:36And his two sisters and his brother.
19:39The newspapers were full of photos of the
19:43of children, as their plight captivated the nation.
19:46She looks a bit sad.
19:48Like she knows what's going on.
19:50James, he looks all perplexed.
19:52What's going on here?
19:54I love seeing the four of us together.
19:56I charge with me.
19:57I love.
19:58Said the police.
19:59The children were not left in any danger.
20:01With them was a bag of sandwiches and a letter.
20:03Part of the letter said,
20:05I've got to abandon my children.
20:06It is ugly chance.
20:07I will be faced with having them taken from me.
20:09Asking to have my children put in their home is like skin.
20:12Me take.
20:14My life.
20:16I love.
20:17I love.
20:18I love.
20:19I love.
20:20I love.
20:21I love.
20:22I love.
20:23I love.
20:24I love.
20:25I love.
20:26I love.
20:27I love.
20:28I love.
20:29I love.
20:30I love.
20:33What had led to Dawn's mum becoming so desperate as to abandon her much-loved children?
20:51And what became of one-year-old Jimmy and her unborn child?
21:00Melbourne siblings Priti and Prashant have finally discovered the name of their biological mother.
21:06All they know about Narmada Godbole is that she died when they were very young, leading
21:11to them being placed in an Indian orphanage.
21:17In India, investigator Anil Kumar has been searching for further information about Narmada
21:24and he's made a significant breakthrough.
21:28Hello Priti and Prashant, how are you?
21:30Anxious.
21:31Same.
21:32Same.
21:33But good to see you again.
21:34Today I want you to meet a very special who was very close to your mother actually.
21:39Okay.
21:40Okay.
21:41I wish you could remember those days.
22:02I wish I could remember those days.
22:04Can she tell us a few things about my mum's character,
22:07like what type of
22:26That's thank you, that's funny.
22:28Can she tell us what happened to her and how she died?
22:32Do you know where we lived with our grandmother,
22:39if there was a train track behind the house?
22:41Actually, read about your grandmother's father's house
22:47and the parents.
22:55Hmm, there's a train track.
22:58That's what I had imagined, a landscape that was filled with grass
23:01and like an empty field and right behind the train track.
23:05That is exactly what I remember.
23:06The family home has long been abandoned and now lies in ruins.
23:12The family home has long been abandoned and now lies in ruins.
23:18But one key landmark of Priti's childhood still remains.
23:21Was that a school that was there, a local school that we went to, that orange building?
23:26I don't remember my time in class, but I do know this one there was a teacher,
23:32because there's always a teacher figure, because there's always a teacher figure with us.
23:38My father has never went to me.
23:45I don't remember my school.
23:51I don't remember my time in class, but I do know that this one there was a teacher,
23:55figure with us and you pretty all her I I'm mother in India yeah I remember that
24:17I remember that person was a very scared and also used to say I I I and you both call her I
24:27and then she never may been a good student or was I cheeky
24:33she gave us such love and and took care of us and I can feel that now felt it as a child I wish I could
24:44give her a now give you a big hug thank you Maya G thank you so much I had action today I think what
25:06touched me about that was something existed like someone remembers as a kid I've had that my parents
25:13remember me as a nine-year-old it was nice to hear from somebody I learned that Sharon's her but I
25:20have her personality suck we have we both makes me feel happy to hear that I look like my mum and it
25:30I know it hurts a little bit because I can't paint much of a picture because I can't yet put it all
25:40together because as much remember I can't my biggest question still is trying to what happened to my
25:49mum during her marriage and during the time going from her care to my grandparents care of what happened
26:02to her in Perth Dawn Slater has discovered her mum Pat abandoned her four children at London's Victoria
26:12Station in 1959 now Dawn wants to know the circumstances that led to that event she knows
26:19the family had previously been living in Rhodesia but remembers nothing their life there at the University
26:26of Western Australia dawn is meeting anthropologist dr. Richard volks this was the great period of
26:32modernization in colonial Africa the white European population Rhodesia kind of almost tripled about a 15
26:41year period the short after arrived there your eldest brother is born you know Stephen by your sister
26:50followed by myself yourself but by 1956 your mother and father have separated really okay sad especially
27:05when you've got three children and soon there would be a fourth child James the brother Dawn never got to
27:13know James is in March 57 but she parted with my father at that time hadn't she so well we've managed to find his birth certificate
27:25Wow James Vivian we know this is James because this yes but it's a different name the father so his birth is entered not as
27:42James love but as James Walker
27:48oh that's a shock
27:52just having a different father to us I didn't expect that at all it just
27:58it was
28:02his father wanted to take him and that would explain he wasn't with us the fact that James is a half-brother
28:10it hasn't less than the one I feel and I still would love to meet him
28:16I thought I was looking for a James but now it seems like a James Walker
28:24with her investigation taking a surprise turn Dawn is reconnecting with family historian Lorraine Clark
28:32Lorraine has looked into the relationship between Dawn's mum Pat and the father of baby James James Walker Senior
28:39so do you know why your mum came back to the UK from Rhodesia?
28:43I assume it was because she wanted to be a near family
28:46we think your mum was back to the UK to find dad and to get a divorce
28:51right
28:52and we know from the sheen documents that your father returned to the UK in May 1957
28:59it's March 1959 when you're left at the London Railway Station
29:05she was expected baby in May
29:08hmm
29:09so the baby would have been conceived in August 1958
29:13so that's the b**** Mr Walker
29:17yeah James Walker
29:18so this is a newspaper article for you to read
29:21in the aftermath of the train station incident
29:24Pat shared letters with the press that revealed the truth about her relationship with Mr Walker
29:29September 1958
29:32dear Pat
29:33get your passport fixed up quickly
29:36I want you b**** so much sweetheart
29:39I can't bear it any b**** seriously
29:42bummer
29:43you'll be allowed to b**** sponsor you on the understand that we will b**** get him b****
29:49it's nice that she had someone b**** to love her
29:52we believe he was about 51
29:54oh really?
29:55and she was so 22 at the time when they met
29:57yeah
29:58oh
29:59quite a difference
30:00in age
30:01yeah
30:02not that that matters does it really b**** someone b****
30:04you love them b****
30:05but just a few months later
30:07a follow up letter told a very different story
30:10dear Pat
30:11dear Pat
30:12I feel I have to write to tell you about
30:14everything
30:15I have to make sure our
30:17married children
30:19we know that the difference ages could never make for real happiness
30:23wow
30:24he didn't hang out did he?
30:26he was expecting a b****
30:29and he says a b****
30:31yeah
30:32such a b**** without any support
30:35Pat had no choice but to turn to welfare
30:39the situation in England is that to get welfare you had a point system
30:44the fact that she's unmarried she would have got less points
30:47so the welfare situation for hers was bleak
30:50Brad Arjun in London has some more information for you
30:53I've had an intriguing time
30:55research mum's story
30:57and I think
30:58I'm able to paint a picture of what happened
31:00which is why I'm here
31:02outside the Daily Express building
31:04because it's h****
31:06your mother came 62 years ago
31:08she had no job
31:10she had no b****
31:12and so she came here to speak to a reporter
31:14Donald Seaman
31:16and she told him
31:17how she dealt to government welfare
31:19and all he had been able to give her
31:21was a caravan
31:23for her
31:24and four young children
31:25in the middle of winter
31:27and she was concerned about keeping you all together
31:30now Donald wrote to Pat's
31:33member of parliament
31:34and of course
31:35he referred everyone
31:37back to welfare
31:39I feel her desperation
31:52breaks my heart
31:55and nobody listening to her
31:56nobody helping her
31:58must have taken her over
32:00when your mum thought about what happened
32:02you tend to think
32:03well
32:04mum just left us there
32:06you know that wasn't very
32:07and that feeling
32:09changed my thoughts completely
32:11she's a very strong woman
32:14stronger than I ever thought
32:16Pat had done what she could
32:19to keep all her family together
32:21but in the end
32:22Dawn's baby brother James
32:24and her mum's unborn child
32:26would never again be part of the family
32:28we could see her face
32:30on different occasions
32:32how sad she was
32:34no doubt over the years
32:35she'd give her a f**** thought
32:36so
32:39what happened
32:40to Dawn's missing siblings
32:46in Melbourne
32:47adopted siblings
32:48Priti and Prashant
32:49seek answers
32:50surrounding the mysterious death
32:51of their biological mother
32:53Narmada
32:54otherwise shared the suspicion
32:55that she may have been murdered
32:57by their father
32:58psychiatrist
33:00Dr. Manjula O'Connor
33:01has been researching the case
33:03Dr. Manjula
33:05Hi Dr. Manjula
33:06nice to meet you
33:07you too
33:08very nice to meet you
33:09please come in
33:10thank you so much
33:11what we know
33:12about your mother
33:13and your father
33:14is that
33:15they were married
33:16in a love marriage
33:17but we do know
33:18that
33:19uh
33:20that
33:21belong
33:22different castes
33:23so
33:24that would have influenced
33:25their
33:26future life
33:27together
33:28could you just
33:29explain the caste that
33:30our father belonged to
33:31and the caste our
33:32mother belonged to?
33:34right so
33:35your mother
33:36Narmada
33:37belonged to
33:38the
33:39mahar caste
33:40and
33:41the
33:42mahar caste
33:43are
33:44the lowest
33:45castes
33:46of
33:47Hindu
33:48your father
33:49was
33:50from the brahman caste
33:51the caste
33:52so the brahmins
33:53were not to mix
33:54with
33:55anybody
33:56other than the brahman caste
33:58if anyone
33:59taught that law
34:00there were penalties
34:01to be paid
34:03the caste system
34:04the caste system has been a dominating factor in indian for thousands of years
34:08caste is determined at birth
34:10establishing a person's place in the social order
34:13and their designated occupations
34:16of the four levels of caste
34:18brahmins from which priests and religious scholars are drawn
34:21are at the top
34:23have historically been among the lowest social group
34:26traditionally working as street sweepers
34:28railway workers
34:29and
34:30while constitutional changes in 1949
34:33outlawed caste based discrimination
34:36the
34:37long-standing caste laws
34:38were still
34:39influential
34:40society
34:41when Priti Prashant's parents were married
34:42so
34:43they
34:44would have suffered
34:45a lot of
34:46uh
34:47castigation
34:48and isolation
34:49from
34:50both sides
34:51yeah
34:52none of the families would have wanted them
34:54um
34:55to
34:56you know
34:57be married
34:58and so they cut them off
34:59do you have any memories
35:00of your
35:01i have memories
35:03views
35:04like physical views
35:05from your father
35:06yes
35:07to your mother
35:08yes i do
35:09what i remember is like screaming and yelling
35:11who is screaming
35:12i think it's me that's screaming
35:14and my mother's been here
35:20through the investigation have you discovered anything around what happened to our mother
35:27like how she died
35:28um yes i do have some information
35:31this is registration of deaths formed
35:35it's written in Hindi yeah and so this is the English translation and so what
35:42that shows is that the date of death is 28 March 1984 at 5 30 p.m. and here's the
35:49name of the deceased Nirmad Abai name of the husband she was 24 years old
35:57there's no confirmation how she passed so it's like she's died in the hospital
36:04do you know what happened before then I do remember some kind of a fight
36:10happening but I can't be sure but I do remember like ambulance flashing lights
36:15coming to the house I don't know if I was lucky if I had started and she was in
36:19there fire just try to picture it I feel like I feel like he's hit the fire he lit
36:25the can you connect with that what is it
36:32of worry you're worried you're feeling worried for your mother and your
36:43brother
36:47so I do some information yeah the reason for death is burning
36:55so my memories are of the father dying lights yeah your memories are right was it
37:10purposely done to her it's hard to see she died in a horrible way yes at such a
37:21young age my conclusion is that I still think my father was a cause of it he's
37:32responsible for her death how do I deal with something like that how can a man who
37:41had a love marriage and and supposedly fell in love do something this so I'm feeling
37:49really angry because I started to feel a connection towards him and and now it's
37:56it's back to hatred if their marriage wasn't allowed by caste or society or their
38:03parents why did he even marry her maybe she would still be alive now if he had
38:07left there's missing years like oh no where was I in that time I'm gonna find my
38:14my sister I think that would would mean I could complete the puzzle
38:17in Perth Dawn Slater suspects her missing brother James was placed in the care of his
38:28father her mother abandoned her children at Victoria Station in London in 1959
38:34mum Pat was also pregnant at the time so became of this child
38:39coming in today maybe I won't like some of the answers but I need to know
38:47Dawn is hoping Wendy Brown from adoption search agency Jigsaw can shed some light on her lost siblings
38:54I've been looking into baby James and the one that your mum was pregnant with
38:59and we have found a birth certificate oh Paul another Paul the baby was born on
39:07the 29th of May 59 doesn't state father no no yes second so it makes you think that
39:17she was adopted she just loved the children you think of her circumstances could she have looked after them
39:35no she was struggling having to do it all on
39:39she was adopted as well and he was adopted with his brother how was it oh well
39:47that's good yeah so they were adopted by the same family
39:50hmm in the UK I'm just pleased they were kept
39:54yes they're both alive
39:56thanks okay Jim knows you yes and he's happy to have contact with you
40:03oh that's good that's lovely yes so pleased at long last
40:08yeah coming in today I didn't expect to find out about James or the fifth baby
40:19so it was so nice finding out about both of them the whole point
40:25coming in this journey to find James for 62 years I wondered about him
40:33to find him oh it's just it's just blown me away
40:39neither James nor Paul had chosen to look to their adoption history
40:43but Dawn has been able to meet James over the internet
40:48for both a whole new family has been discovered
40:52hello hello Noni how are you good to see you and you thank you come in thanks very much
41:00so Dawn quite a journey that you've been on I certainly have it's like a big load has been
41:05lifted in a way so I imagine when your sister found the article about you've been being left
41:10that you sure reaction must have been abandonment I just couldn't fathom why she talked about it
41:15since learning what I've learned what she went through I think she went through every
41:19a newspaper in the try and get some help yes yeah trying to get us across so someone would help
41:24she was just awesome if you could talk to her now
41:28I just wrap my arms around her and tell her how proud I am
41:31when you embarked on this adventure were you trepidatious about what you might find
41:36yeah what sorts of things were you in this case scenario
41:38I remember one being I think if I ever found anybody I wouldn't want to be
41:43you know and I thought that would be hard making him
41:45luckily he didn't know he doesn't want any publicity or anything
41:50sure sure but yeah but he wants a relationship with you which is fantastic
41:53lovely yes so when you first saw Jimmy did you show him these photographs yes
41:58I sent this one he's over the moon with me he said you look a bit like me
42:02so for the future what would you like the outcome to be of all this
42:06for us all to get that not skyping or anything like that just all meet up in a place you know
42:11do you think your mum would be happy that you know the story
42:15yes I think so it would be so lovely if she's alive and she could see our reaction at all
42:21you know I would love that well all she wants to be together yes yeah and not to be separated
42:28and so you've made her wish come true I think the family get together will be a
42:33certainly will yeah yeah it'll be lovely can't wait
42:43for Priti and Prashant questions still linger over the missing years between the tragic death of their
42:49mother in 1984 their admits to orphanage in 1988. Anil Kumar has been investigating that period
42:57and has sent through another video report Priti Prashant what I have discovered happened
43:04in the aftermath of your mother's after she died father was taken in by the police but the case did
43:12not progress your father to a power station Nagpur for work and was still a resident there when it is 1996.
43:22see our father was questioned for her murder but they just didn't have any parents
43:26you spent some months with your mother's sister your auntie Ruma in Nagpur then you were sent to stay
43:32with your grandmother in Ramtek her name was during this period the family was struggling with financial
43:39problems it became increasingly difficult for your grandmother to support her family and in April 1988
43:46she made the difficult decision to take you to the orphanage but your grandmother Barubai do you
43:53remember your auntie Ruma do you remember our grandmother no auntie I don't yeah I remember
44:02them and their faces right now I'm on my way to Nagpur I'm following up on some information about the
44:10whereabouts of your mother's family I'll call get there and share what I have found
44:18does a breakthrough in Nagpur mean Priti and Prashant
44:21are finally on the threshold of finding their lost maternal family
44:30in Nagpur India there's been a major development in the search for Priti's mother's family which
44:36investigator Anil can't wait to share hello Priti and Prashant how are you hi Anil how are you today
44:44I would like I would like to introduce you someone special for paternal family
44:59Priti Prashant this is Ruma ji Ruma ji is your mother's oldest sister
45:05how are you we're so happy to see your face
45:09very happy
45:11today I'm so happy and I'm glad to meet you so many
45:1540 years now we are meeting today so I can't control my emotions I'm so sedent
45:23been a long time for us as well
45:26you remember Priti I remember being in your house with your kids
45:31you knew we were adopted and sent
45:32yes they asked my witness to save Australia but they never gives me for stress so I could not
45:42remind you please forgive me I'm so sorry I'm so sorry
45:49there's no need to apologize because we had the the the best offering with our parents
45:56they took care of us they gave us so much love security and we couldn't have hoped for better
46:02mom and dad thank you can she can she tell us about the relationship
46:09between our mother and father was he responsible for her death
46:13why didn't the police charge him with anything
46:35there's a lot of information there for us to take
47:01why when did your grandma
47:04are you free because she passed away
47:06at time of death
47:11she came to see Prashant call Prashant call Prashant
47:15where is he
47:18so courageous you look after Prashant
47:20I definitely felt a connection to my
47:38first moment of seeing my auntie
47:40my grandmother was calling out my name
47:51yeah that that broke me that really
47:55that really broke me
47:56out of all her grandchildren she was still seeking me
48:00after all these years that's what I wanted to hear
48:06that that she never forgot
48:08to be connected to my Indian family like this
48:11I never thought this would have happened in my life
48:13I waited a long time to hear that they wanted us
48:16that they didn't want to let us go
48:18that that was the only choice that they had
48:21for brother and I to have a better life
48:24so the biggest question I had
48:28was around how my mother had passed
48:32what led to her to her death
48:37that answer is it's murder
48:43my my father had killed her
48:46but the question's been answered
48:50I'll have to move on from that
48:53I found my mum's family
48:56so I can move from that
48:58I can I can be at peace with that
49:16I'll have to move on from that
49:33to the end
49:36to the end
Comments