CANADA • Shael Ranbir Singh ARORA, 2½ ~ Calgary AB

Warrant issued for Calgary father who took son to India
Heartbroken mother pleads for information to assist with return of boy
May 31, 2011


Shael Ranbir Singh Arora was two-and-a-half when he was taken by his father Harpreet Singh Arora to India.


This is a recent photo of Shael Ranbir Singh Arora, two-and-a-half, who police say was taken by his father, Harpreet Singh Arora, to India.

CALGARY — A Calgary mother says she’s heartbroken a year has passed since her toddler was abducted by his father and taken to India.

Canada-wide abduction without consent warrants have been issued for Harpreet Singh Arora, 44, for whisking the estranged couple’s two-and-a-half-year-old son Shael abroad without warning last May 2010.


This is an undated photo of Harpreet Singh Arora.

“I feel helpless, lost and just desperate to get him back,” said the boy’s mother, Mona Gill.

International parental child abductions are unusual and notoriously difficult to solve, investigators say.

“We are limited in what action we can take as Canadian law enforcement. We are at the whim of the services of other agencies,” said Staff Sgt. Patty McCallum of the Calgary police domestic conflict unit.

Five cases in the past five years have come to Calgary investigators.

Only two cases have been resolved. The most recent case was closed in November when a child was returned to her father from China after two years.

“These are extremely difficult, and often times it’s a waiting game,” said McCallum.

The case of Calgary mother Melissa Hawach — who hired two mercenaries and secretly travelled to Lebanon during Hezbollah’s war with Israel at the end of 2006 to take back her daughters Cedar and Hannah from their father — made global headlines.

In Gill’s case, she agreed to let her separated husband of four years take their son visiting to Vancouver between May 12 and 16, 2010.

But police say the investigation has revealed Arora and Shael arrived in Mumbai, India, on May 24, 2010. Both hold Canadian passports.

The day Gill was to pick father and son up from the airport, she discovered a note left on her front door.

The letter warned the news would be shocking.

It was.

“He said he’d decided to take some time away with my son. It was saying that he was not coming back with Shael,” said Gill.

Arora, who goes by the nickname Dimpy, said he would meet Gill in Singapore, where her family resides.

Gill reported the abduction to police before she travelled overseas from June to September.

“I waited here for six weeks hoping that I would hear from him or hoping that it had been a mistake,” she said.

She’s heard nothing.


Mona Gill holds a picture of her son Shael Arora, who was taken to India by her estranged husband Harpreet Arora. The public is being asked for any clues regarding the whereabouts of the child or his father.

“No calls, e-mails, photos, texts or messages leave me constantly worried and imagining how he is and how much he has grown up,” said Gill.

“This past year has been the most difficult of my life. I could not have imagined how much pain and longing I could feel until my child was abducted,” she said.

“We have tried everything in our power and I am devastated and desperate for the return of Shael.”

Unless Arora hands the child over himself, police say the investigation may rely on family and friends rethinking their role helping him.

“We do believe people are out there that have information,” said McCallum. “This is about returning a child, giving it access to both parents. That’s what we’re reaching out to say. We need to resolve this.”

Gill said her son’s abduction came out of the blue.

“He made it sound like everything was OK. . . . This has come as a complete shock to me. I would never have done it to him.”

After exhausting all other leads for the past year, the RCMP’s National Missing Children Services launched an international alert protocol. Interpol in Hong Kong and Singapore have also been alerted.

Police are now appealing to anyone who may have information about the whereabouts of Arora, and the couple’s young son.

Their current location is unknown.

Arora has friends in Mumbai and family in New Delhi.

His family has told Gill they do not know where he is.

While police say there are no immediate safety concerns for Shael’s well-being, both parents have equal rights to access.

“To deny one is unlawful,” said McCallum.

The estranged couple, who were married for four years, did not have a custody agreement in place, but Arora saw his son every day when the couple first separated.

“I know (Arora) will take really good care of him. I just want him to bring him back to me safely.”

Last February, Arora took the boy to the Vancouver Olympics with no problems.

“I was totally taken by surprise because he had taken him before in February and had brought him back safe and sound.”

Police did not identify which airline Arora used.

Airlines generally have a policy requiring a parental consent letter authorizing travel if the child is travelling with one parent. The letter must be signed and dated by the other parent.

Canada Border Services Agency is responsible for checking people entering Canada, not leaving.

“We do pay very close attention to children. Our officers will check for IDs and proof to ensure the child has permission to travel with the adult,” said spokeswoman Lisa White.

Gill dissolved into tears describing her last moments with her son.

“He was a bubbly child, very happy, and he was just beginning the talk at the time he left. The one word he always knew was Mom,” she said.

“The last time I talked to him I said, ‘I’ll pick you up at the airport.’ He said ‘Bye.’ That was it.”

Arora is described as East Indian, five foot eight inches tall, 169 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He shaves his head, but is also known to wear a turban. He has associates in Calgary, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Singapore and India.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/Calgary+toddler+abducted+father+year+mother+pleas+return/4870630/story.html