NRI kids' custody given to uncle by Norwegian court

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A Norwegian court on Monday handed over the two NRI children in foster care to their paternal uncle, ending months of custody row that saw India stepping up diplomatic pressure on Norway to send back the kids, taken away by the authorities here last year.

"Stavanger District Court has decided in the child welfare case involving two Indian children that the uncle is to take over care of the children. They will leave for India as soon as the necessary arrangements have been made," the Child Welfare Service (CWS), which had put the children in foster care, said.

Giving the custody of Abhigyan (3) and Aishwarya (1) to their uncle Arunabhash Bhattacharya, the court has thereby supported the joint application submitted by the children's parents and the CWS at the hearing on Tuesday April 17, it said.

The court issued a ruling granting the application made jointly by the parties which stated that the “grounds for removing the children from the care of their parents were and continue to be present, but that it is no longer necessary for them to stay with a family in Norway as agreement has now been reached that the children are to grow up in the care of their uncle and will not be living with their parents," CWS said.

Expressing thanks to the Indian authorities, Gunnar Toresen, head of the Child Welfare Service in Stavanger, said he was pleased that the parties have reached agreement and described cooperation with the Indian authorities as good.

"On behalf of Stavanger municipality, I would like to thank the Indian authorities and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their help in finding a satisfactory solution to this case. Growing up in the care of their uncle in India is a good, long-term alternative for the children," he said.

Officials of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Oslo were also present at the hearing. Abhigyan and Aishwarya were taken away from their parents –Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya – by CWS in May last year on grounds of ‘emotional disconnect’.