India, Norway reach agreement, NRI's children to be given to uncle

New Delhi, Jan 25 (PTI) The two children of a Non-Resident Indian couple who were taken away by the Norwegian Childcare Services on grounds of "emotional disconnect" will be handed over to their uncle following finalisation of an agreement between India and Norway today. The agreement between Indian government through its mission in Norway, Municipality of Norway, Norwegian Childcare Services, the parents (Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya) and their lawyer named the Kolkata-based brother of Anurup as the primary caretaker of the two children, official sources said here. The agreement said the uncle, Arunabhash, has agreed to the parents' wish and is aware of the responsibility and he will be the children's primary caretaker, the sources said. They said Barnevarne (Norwegian Child Welfare Services) has approved and agreed to give children to the uncle. Arunabhash, who lives in Kolkata, will soon leave for Norway to fetch the children, sources said. The children Abhigyan (3) and Aishwarya (1) were taken under protective care by Barnevarne, which claimed emotional disconnect with the parents, and placed them in foster parental care according as per a local Norway court directive. Following the plea by the family, India's External Affairs Minister S M Krishna spoke to his Norwegian counterpart and requested them to find an "amicable and urgent" settlement. India expressed its concerns to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the children were being deprived of the undoubted benefits of being brought up in their own ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic milieu. PTI