NRI children to be back soon as Norway gives custody to uncle

In a breakthrough in the NRI children custody row, the Norwegian Child Welfare Service today decided to award the custody of two children to their uncle enabling him to bring them back to India.

"This week, the Child Welfare Service (CWS) in Stavanger completed its talks with the uncle in the child welfare case concerning the 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," CWS said in a press statement.

The proposed solution will be presented on March 23, the provisional date for the hearing, to Stavanger District Court which will take the final decision in the case.

This arrangement means the Child Welfare Service has to ensure 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, CWS said.

Abhigyan, 1, and Aishwarya, 3, children of Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya, an NRI couple living in norway, were taken away by the Barnevarne Norwegian CWS last May on the ground of "emotional disconnect" and put in a foster home.

The Ministry of External Affairs made huge efforts to find an amicable and urgent solution to the row with Minister S M Krishna assuring the children would be brought home at "any cost".

In the statement, the CWS also said, "The Norwegian authorities will ask the Indian authorities to ensure the necessary follow-up for the children in the event of their return to India".

In order to process the case concerning the two Indian children who were taken into the care of Stavanger municipality and placed in a Norwegian foster home, the Child Welfare Service has had to apply for an extension to the children's residence permits," it said.

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