Stavanger:
The uncle of the two Indian children who were taken away from their parents by the Norwegian Child Welfare Services met one of the children today.
The Norwegian Child Welfare Society had taken away the two children from their Non Resident Indian (NRI) parents, Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya. The Norwegian authorities had agreed to make the children's uncle Arunabhas Bhattacharya the formal custodian of three-year-old Abhigyan and one-year-old Aishwarya.
"Abhigyan was kept in good hands but he was traumatised. He was frightened, he was scared. When I saw him he just came and jumped on me," Mr Arunabhas said after meeting with three-year-old Abhigyan today. He hopes to meet one-year old Aishwarya soon.
After the Norway courts allow the children's custody to be passed to Mr Bhattacharya's brother Arunabhas, the latter will be able to return to India with the children. The legal procedures of handing over the children to the uncle, however, are taking time.
The decision of the court will be influenced by the recommendations of the Child Welfare Service, who say they have not reached a conclusion yet.
"We went to the court with a deep conviction that these children needed more than they had and we will make sure that they are well provided for now," Mr Gunnar Torsen, Head of Child Welfare Services, told NDTV.
He also commented on the coverage of the story by the Indian media and said that the authorities had not 'snatched' the children, but had followed due procedures.
Mr Torsen refused to divulge information on the Norwegian authority's strict stance on the matter.
Denying that cultural differences played a role in the authority's decision to take away the children from their parents, he said, "One thing I can say categorically is that the way they were being fed or where they were sleeping had nothing to do with our decision. I am sure any Indian would have taken the same position as I have."
"Our case has nothing to do with India as a society," Mr Torsen maintained, adding that they want to take time to give professional advice.
Arunabhas Bhattacharya, a dentist by profession, has been in regular sessions with the welfare service and psychologists, who are saying they want to make sure he knows what he's getting into. He has been asked to avoid seeing the children's parents.
"It's a very difficult phase of our life it's traumatising. How to handle things and cope with the way Norwegian authorities are thinking, their way of doing things, and to be at par with them all the time. It's very hard for us," Mr Arunabhas said.
Norwegian authorities say their recommendations will be based on the special needs of the children and on the condition that the family and the Indian government understand and guarantees that these needs will be met. They have maintained that they will not give in to the political pressure they are facing right now and give a quick recommendation to the courts to give custody to the uncle.
Earlier, Foreign Affairs Minister SM Krishna had told Norwegian diplomats and his counterpart that the children must be brought back to India and to an environment in which they are culturally and linguistically comfortable.
As of now, it is unclear how long the procedure will take and when the children will be released into their uncle's custody.