KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 — Scores of supporters gathered outside Sogo shopping centre here this morning in a show of solidarity with M. Indira Gandhi, as she renewed her 16-year fight to find her missing daughter, Prasana Diksa.

Dressed largely in black and holding placards that read “Mr IGP, return my child”, “Stop these 16 years of pain” and “IGP, time to act”, the crowd formed a circle around Indira and her two adult children, Tevi Darsiny, 27, and Karan Dinish, 26, before the family began their march to Bukit Aman.

The march, called the March for Justice, started with speeches from Indira and a few activists.

“This is a mother pleading to get my own daughter,” Indira told supporters through a microphone, her voice breaking. 

“No mother should go through what I have been through. Is it so difficult to find my daughter? We have a very good police force. I hope we can send a very loud message to the IGP and the authorities,” Indira said.

She added that Prasana, now 17, had grown so much out of sight that “if she’s in the crowd, I wouldn’t know if that’s her”.

The renewed push came after a viral social media post last month questioning the police and Attorney-General’s Chambers’ handling of the case. 

The post alleged that Prasana’s father, Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, who abducted her in 2009, was still in Malaysia and had even benefited from several government assistance programmes, despite previous statements by authorities that he was no longer in the country.

Activists and politicians joined today’s gathering, including Indira Gandhi Action Team (Ingat) chief Arun Dorasamy, who said Indira had endured years in court with little progress.

“She’s exhausted. So she’s taking it to the streets to demand her rights and seek justice,” he said.

Also present was Deputy Law Minister and Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran, who said he was attending not in his government capacity, but as an elected representative angry at the lack of closure.

“If the guy can use his IC, where is he? Find him,” he said, referring to Riduan.

Former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim warned that the case remained unresolved because “mother-and-child issues are not seen as serious” when they intersect with religious disputes.

“That’s why Indira’s case won’t be the last. There’s going to be more,” he said. 

“The solution for the prime minister is simple: you have two ministers — Azalina and Naim. Call them and set up a new court. Create a new system for justice,” he added.

Activists Marina Mahathir and former Malaysian Bar president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan were also spotted at the rally.

Around 20 police officers stood around Sogo’s main entrance observing the gathering, which remained peaceful before the march set off toward the federal police headquarters.

Before the march began, the group held a brief prayer session.

They later set off from Sogo towards Bukit Aman, with traffic police halting vehicles along the route to allow the crowd to pass safely.

Indira and her two children, dressed in white, led the procession by pushing Prasana’s old baby stroller, now carrying the missing girl’s teddy bear, which she said was a symbolic reminder of the child she last saw at 11 months old.

The group arrived at Bukit Aman after 40 minutes and met with representatives of Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohd Khalid Ismail.

However, Indira and the others stressed that the mother wanted to personally hand the teddy bear to Khalid herself.

Indira vowed she would remain in front of Bukit Aman until the country’s top cop met her.

“I will stand here until the IGP comes and takes Prasana’s teddy bear. I will be here waiting for him,” she said, as supporters around her broke into repeated chants of “We want IGP! We want IGP!”

Arun said he had sent both a letter and an email to the IGP several days earlier notifying him that Indira intended to hand over the teddy bear as a symbolic gesture.

Arun urged the IGP to “drop whatever you have” and come down to meet Indira.

“She has something emotional to tell the IGP before handing over the teddy bear. This is not a surprise. I’ve held two press conferences and there have been hundreds of news stories these past two weeks.”