US Custody row: Father asked to appear before court on September 14

New York: One-year-old Indrashish Saha is lying in a surgical ward in New Jersey's Children's Specialised Hopsital, being treated for head injuries. He can't see his parents, because their access to him has been restricted to just two hours a week by US authorities, who suspect that they are not being fully honest about his injuries.

And a bigger trauma could hit Indrashish: authorities are looking at the possibility of denying his parents custody of Indrashish and giving it to a suitable relative. The Indian consulate in New York and embassy officials in Washington have taken up the matter with US authorities after the father approached them, saying that child had not been handed over to them by the hospital.

A "criminal investigation" against the parents has also begun.

According to the child's mother, Pamela Saha, Indrashish was jumping on the bed, when he slipped and fell, sustaining injuries to his head and neck.

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The doctors at the Goryeb Children's Hospital, where he was taken, detected a blood clot and said immediate surgery was required, she said. The child was later shifted to another hospital and the parents were given limited access to the child.

The Department of Families and Children (DCF) filed a case against the family saying that the injuries suffered by the baby were consistent with the Shaken Baby Syndrome and were inconsistent with the explanations provided by the parents. In the case filed, they have also mentioned a previous injury which came up in the CT scan done on the child.

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The term Shaken Baby Syndrome gained significance in 1956 when nanny Virginia Jaspers was convicted of killing three children left in her care by shaking them violently.

The Consulate General has requested the US Department of State in New York to have the concerns of the parents addressed. The Embassy of India in Washington D.C. has also taken up the matter with the US Department of State.

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A New Jersey court hearing the case has asked Mr Saha to appear with a lawyer on September 14. Mr Saha has also been asked to suggest names of relatives who could be given the custody of the child.

Mr Saha stressed that it was an 'honest' accident, and that the symptoms after a fall can coincide with that of 'Shaken Baby Syndrome'.

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"My child is an Indian and should go back to India," he said, adding that sending Indrashish to a foster family will only confuse the child.

Indrashish's grandfather said that he has appealed to the President, the Prime Minister and the West Bengal Chief Minister for help.

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In May, two Indian children in Norway were taken into foster care by Child Protection Services who said that Sagarika and Anurup Bhattacharya were unfit to look after two-and-half-year-old Abhigyan and five-month-old Aishwarya.

The custody battle became a diplomatic stress point; the Indian government intervened on behalf of the Bhattacharyas and finally, the children were sent to India in the custody of their uncle, Arunabhas Bhattacharya.