Norway: Oslo court sends Indian couple to jail

Mangalore Today/ CNN/IBN

Oslo, Dec 4: An Oslo court ordered conviction of the Indian couple in the child abuse case on Tuesday.

Chandrasekhar Vallabhaneni has been sentenced to 18 months, while his wife Anupama for 15 months in the case. The couple was facing criminal charges of maltreatment of their child.

On Monday, the court had heard the counsel of V. Chandrasekhar, an employee of Tata Consultancy Service (TCS) on deputation to Oslo, and his wine Anupama.

 

The counsel highlighted the holes in the prosecution case by informing the court that the child welfare department had taken the custody of the child for a month and returned him to his parents after they promised to follow their suggestions.

"We are expecting that justice will be done," Chandrasekhar’s nephew V. Sailendra had told reporters here Monday.

The seven-year-old Sai Sriram and his younger brother are living with their grandparents at Miyapur here. According to Sailendra, the children were worried and inquiring about their parents.

"They used to chat regularly their parents over net and with none of them coming on line, they inquiring about them. They are also worried after seeing the media coverage of their parents," said Sailendra.

The family members have once again appealed to the Indian government to intervene and seek their release. Member of Parliament from Machilipatnam K. Narayana Rao also sought the intervention of the government.

"Reprimanding the children by the parents is common in India as they do it for their good. How can they be punished for this," asked the MP.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid has already ruled out any intervention in the matter. "This is an issue that relates not to the government. It relates to a private citizen and to the local law of that country," he said.

Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, however, Monday said India can diplomatically do something in the case.

The couple was arrested by police in Oslo last week on charges of "gross or repeated maltreatment" of their child.

Justifying their arrest, the Oslo police have termed the case as "very serious". A police officer has been quoted as saying that the boy bore burn marks and scars on his body.

He also said prosecution has proposed a sentence of 15 months for the mother and 18 months for the father in the case.

The couple’s lawyer denied that they hurt the boy but said they had some difficulties in handling him.

The arrest was made nine months after Sriram complained to his school teachers that his parents were threatening to send him back to India for wetting his pants.

Originally hailing from Krishna district in coastal Andhra, Chandrasekhar with his family returned home in July this year. Chandrasekhar again left for Norway on Nov 23 for work. This time he went only with his wife leaving behind his both sons. A court in Oslo issued summons and later the police arrested them

Indian couple burnt, hit son with belt, say Oslo police

Norway, Dec 3: The Norway police on Monday claimed that the Indian couple from Andhra Pradesh facing charges of child abuse burnt and hit their seven-year-old son with belt. Speaking to CNN-IBN, Oslo police official Kurt Lir said that the charges against the Vallabhanenis are from 2007 to March 2012.

"The charges against the Indian couple are from 2007 to March 2012. They are accused of burning their son with hot spoon or metal object and also hitting him with a belt. This kind of disciplinary action is not allowed in Norway," Lir, head of prosecution, Oslo police, said.

An Oslo court is set to rule on the couple on Tuesday. The prosecution has asked for a 15-month jail term for the mother and an 18-month jail term for the father.

The Indian government, meanwhile, has said it will not intervene in a legal dispute involving a private party. According to the information with the Indian Embassy in Oslo, Chandrashekar Vallabhaneni, a software professional, and his wife Anupama were taken into custody by the police in Oslo last week.

The police arrested the TCS employee nine months after the child complained to his school teachers that his parents were threatening to send him back to India for his acts, Chandrasekhar’s nephew V Sailender, who is in Hyderabad, claimed.

"My uncle had no idea about the case registered against him initially. He came to Hyderabad along with his wife and children in July and went back to Oslo in the last week of October. Then he was served a notice to appear before the authorities along with his wife," he said.

"My aunt also went to Oslo on November 23 and the couple appeared before the authorities concerned. On November 28, we were informed by my uncle’s neighbours in Oslo that they were arrested and remanded," Sailender said.

The boy was found wetting his pants in the school bus which was reported to his father, who in turn "threatened" the child that he would be sent back to India if he repeated that again, Sailender said, adding the boy was also found bringing toys from school.