India asks Norway to ensure Indian couple gets back son

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Dec 28, 2016, DHNS: India on Tuesday asked Norway to ensure that an Indian-Norwegian couple living in Oslo get back their son, who was taken away by the country’s Child Welfare Services.

Oslo, however, reiterated to New Delhi that officials of its Child Welfare Services had strictly adhered to the Norwegian Child Welfare Act, when they took away five-and-a-half-year-old Aryan from his parents, Anil Sharma and Gurvinderjit Kaur and put him in foster care.

“I refuse to accept that foster parents can take better care of the child than the natural parents,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj posted on Twitter on Tuesday.

She not only articulated New Delhi’s tough stand on the issue in a series of tweets, but also instructed India’s Ambassador to Norway, Debraj Pradhan, to meet senior officials of the Norwegian government.

“We want restoration of Aryan to his natural parents,” she added. “This is our firm stand and the Indian Ambassador will convey this to the Norwegian authorities.”

Aryan’s mother Gurvinderjit Kaur wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs seeking help to get back her son, whom officials of the Norwegian Child Welfare Services took away, claiming that they had received complaints about the child being beaten up at home.