Norway child custody case: Mother writes to Indian embassy seeking intervention
The Ministry of External Affairs said it was working on the next steps.
The Indian woman whose 5-year-old son was taken away by child protection authorities in Norway has approached the Indian embassy in Oslo for help. Gurvinderjit Kaur has formally written to the Indian government seeking its intervention in the case, which she and her husband claim is based on a frivolous abuse allegation. The Ministry of External Affairs said they were working on the next steps that can be taken, reported PTI.
The boy’s father is a Norwegian national. The couple had first reached out to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vijay Jolly for help. Jolly had subsequently brought the matter to the attention of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who had assured the couple of help and cooperation in the case. Jolly said the Indian ambassador would meet “highly placed Norwegian officials” on December 27.
However, the Norwegian embassy in Delhi has asked for “restraint” in the case. They have said that the matter would be handled with “complete sensitivity and awareness”.
This is the third such case in five years in Norway. In 2011, two toddlers were taken into the Norwegian government’s custody under similar circumstances. The former United Progressive Alliance government intervened in the matter to facilitate the children’s release. In 2012, a Norwegian court convicted an Indian couple in a child abuse case with a prison term and had sent the children to their grandparents’ home in Hyderabad.