Indian couple in Norway separated from their kids on frivolous grounds

Mangalore Today /ITV

Kolkata, Jan 23: In what could  become a diplomatic row, an Indian couple  has been separated from their kids  since May last year and the children have been sent to foster care by Child Protective Services citing ridiculous reasons.

The parents of the Indian couple went all the way from Burdwan, West Bengal to meet the President Pratibha Patil to take up the issue with the King of Norway.

 

 

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna called the Norwegian Ambassador in Delhi and requested him to allow the couple to have their kids back. Krishna has also asked the Indian Ambassador to Oslo R K Tyagi to take up the matter with the Norwegian government.

The ridiculous reasons for which the kids have been separate from the Indian couple are: (1) they were feeding their kids with their own fingers, and (2) they were allowing the kids to sleep with them.

"At the highest levels in our diplomatic sectors, we are in touch with the Norwegian government. And we are hopeful that an amicable settlement of this question could be arrived at," Krishna said. Whatever support the family needs will be provided, he added.

In May last year,  Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya lost custody of their toddlers - three-year-old Avigyan and one-year-old Aishwarya - after Norwegian authorities objected to them hand feeding the children.

Norway’s Child Protective Service were also concerned that the children slept in the same bed as the father.

The parents are allowed to meet their kids ONLY ONCE in six months, and the current visa of the couple expiring in March, they are a harried lot.

Says Gunnar Toresen, Head of Child Welfare Services from Stavanger, Norway: "The Child Welfare Service has a responsibility to intervene if measures at the home are not sufficient to meet a child’s needs.

"Examples are when there is every probability that the child’s health or development may be seriously harmed because the parents are incapable of taking adequate responsibility for their child.

"The Norwegian Child Welfare Act applies to all children in Norway, regardless of the child’s nationality, citizenship or cultural background."

The Bhattacharyas have already lost a legal case against the issue and the children will be in the care of foster parents until the age of 18.

The kid’s maternal grandparents appeared on India TV to appeal to the Norwegian authorities and the Indian government to allow the couple to get back the kids, so that they can return to India.

Both Avigyan and Aishwarya can’t eat on their own, no can Aishwarya, who is one-year-old can walk.

Kids sleeping with their parents, and parents feeding their kids with their own hands is common in India.a