“She abducted my child”: Flemish father appeals to India-bound PM De Wever for help

Davy De Witte from Waasmunster met Nisha in 2014. She’s an Indian woman who was adopted as a baby by a family from Ghent. Shortly afterwards, they became a couple, although Nisha was still married to another man.

“She always told me she was going to get divorced,” Davy told VRT. “She kept putting it off. I said at the time that it shouldn’t take years.”

After a four-year relationship, in 2019 the couple decided to start a family. “At first, she said she didn’t want children, but because I wanted children, the idea began to grow on her. She finally became pregnant in April.”

Davy’s dream of having a child came true, but in the summer of that year, his dreams came crashing down, even before their baby was born. “Nisha left and went back to her legal husband.”

Legal proceedings

Davy and Nisha began a mediation process in late 2019 to reach clear agreements regarding the upbringing of their future daughter. Nisha attended the first session in December. Just before the second session in January 2020, she unilaterally terminated the process.

“It eventually transpired that Nisha had already given birth to Raïa in December, a month and a half early. She had kept this a secret, which is why she ended the process.”

Davy gets one surprise after another. “On Raïa’s birth certificate, Nisha had named her husband as the legal father.”

Davy refuses to take this lying down and initiates two legal proceedings. “First to secure official paternity, and then to agree on a residence arrangement.”

“Together with her solicitor, she pulled every legal string to delay everything for as long as possible,” says Davy. But ultimately, the court recognised him as Raïa’s biological and legal father.

At that point, Davy began to suspect that it had all been a set-up for some time. “In court, Nisha literally said: ‘You were just a donor. Get lost.’ It eventually transpired that she and her husband were unable to have children together.”

Fled to India

After he had already been granted paternity of Raïa, the second set of proceedings concerning her residence permit was initiated. “The Ghent court had put those second proceedings on hold until the issue of paternity had been clarified. In hindsight, that turned out to be a disastrous decision.”

Raïa was four years old at the time and had never met her biological father. The youth court quickly ruled that contact between Davy and Raïa should begin.

“Nisha did not agree with this. The court therefore ordered her to pay 500 euro-a-day penalty until she consented.”

Nisha and Raïa were also placed on an international watch list, out of fear that they might flee the country. “But in February 2025, they left anyway, two days before I was due to see Raïa for the first time.”

Letter to Prime Minister De Wever

Last week it emerged that Belgian Prime Minister De Wever will be visiting India on 3 and 4 September. He will also be holding extensive talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I realise that De Wever is there with other objectives. But my question is: please raise my daughter’s name with Modi.” Davy has also put this question to the Prime Minister in an email.

India is not a party to the Hague Convention on Child Abduction. “A solution via that route is not possible. So, I hope the Prime Minister can arrange for some form of cooperation between the Indian and Belgian authorities.”

‘In the Netherlands, there is a similar case involving a child who was abducted by his father and is currently in India. The Dutch Prime Minister, Rob Jetten, has raised this issue with Modi. If the Netherlands can do it, why can’t Belgium?’

Davy certainly hopes that De Wever can use this to put pressure on Modi. “India wants to trade with the EU. But if he now hears that there are already two such cases, it might just set things in motion.”

The Prime Minister’s office has already reacted to the email. The Foreign Ministry has already contacted Davy and has indicated that it is awaiting the court’s ruling on the parental abduction.