Stavanger, Norway:
In a big diplomatic win for India, the Child Welfare Services (CWS) of Norway has recommended that the custody of two children of the Indian couple, Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya, should be given to the uncle, Arunabhash Bhattacharya. This proposed solution will be presented to Stavanger District Court on March 23, which will take the final decision in the case.
Svein Svendsen, lawyer representing the Bhattacharyas in the custody row, told NDTV that the court is unlikely to go against the recommendation of the CWS.
A CWS press release said, "This week the Child Welfare Service in Stavanger completed its talks with the uncle in the child welfare case concerning two Indian children. It has been concluded that care of the two children should be awarded to the brother of the children's father enabling him to take the children back to India,"
"This arrangement requires, however, that the Child Welfare Service ensures that the necessary legal framework and follow-up procedures are in place in order to safeguard the children's best interests and enable the uncle to deal with the situation in the best possible way," it added.
Gunnar Toresen, Head of Norway's CWS said, "The uncle is a good custodian. We are not worried at this stage about the interaction the children will have with the grandparents and parents."
In Delhi today, the children's grandparents, who are on a four-day strike to demand an early solution to the custody battle, met Foreign Minister S M Krishna who told them that India will get the children back at any cost.
A special envoy, Madhusudan Ganpathy, sent by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in Delhi to Oslo, met the Norwegian foreign minister and shared India's concern over attempts by Norwegian officials to keep the children with them even after their visas expire. The children's parents have objected to this plan as well, but Norwegian law makes their permission unnecessary. The special Indian envoy is expected to return to India tomorrow.
The children are still in a foster home. They met their parents after three months earlier this month for an hour.
The children were taken away from their parents in May last year. The staff at Abhigyan's kindergarten found his behaviour in school disturbing; child welfare representatives then visited the family regularly for five months. They reported to a Norwegian court that Sagarika seemed "clinically depressed", though she says doctors have certified she was not depressed. They also accused her of force-feeding the children. Abhigyan was diagnosed with attachment disorder which is said to be caused by parental neglect.
In November last year, a Norwegian court ordered that Abhigyan and Aishwarya would live in a foster home till they turned 18.