External Affairs Minister SM Krishna will on Monday speak to Norwegian Foreign Ministry to ensure the release of two children, who were separated from an NRI couple by the Norwegian Childcare Services.
Krishna has asked for the release and handover of the children to their parents and if not possible then to their grandparents in India. The couple’s visas expire in February. In May last year, Anurup and Sagarika lost custody of both their children, after authorities objected to hand-feeding the baby and sharing a bed with the kids.
The grandparents of the kids thanked the minister for his intervention in the matter.
“I appeal to everyone to help us and raise attention about this incident. I am grateful for what SM Krishna has done. I hope all the efforts can bring back our child,” they said.
The parents Anurup and Sagarika said they are hopeful because children have Indian passports and they’re minors.
“We’ve appealed to the government that we’ll leave everything and go back to India. This is a nightmare in our lives. we want to bring back our kids. We were normal parents. There could be several upbringing issues because the culture is different,” the father said.
Earlier, Krishna instructed Indian Ambassador to Norway RK Tyagi to speak to Norwegian Foreign Ministry to ensure the release of two children.
The matter has been pursued actively with Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the strong demarcates that were made in Oslo and here on January 5, the sources said.
NRI couple Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya’s children Abhigyan (3) and Aishwarya (1) were taken under protective care by Barnevarne (Norwegian Child Welfare Services), which claimed emotional disconnect with the parents, and placed them in foster parental care according to the local Norwegian court’s directive.
On January 12, 2011, an official of the Indian Embassy in Oslo visited the foster home where the young children are staying and ascertained that they were in good health, the MEA said in a release.
Following the visit, the Embassy reiterated the concerns of Indian government to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the children were being deprived of the undoubted benefits of being brought up in their own ethnic, religious cultural and linguistic milieu.
Hence, the return of the children to India so that they can be brought up in familiar surroundings under the loving care of their extended family would be in their best long-term interests.
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