Norway court hands over Indian children to uncle

New Delhi - In a major breather for the Bhattacharya family, a Norwegian court Monday decided to hand over the custody of two children, put under foster care due to troubles between their parents, to their uncle.

The Indian government is now making all arrangements to facilitate the Indian siblings' return to India.

"The Norwegian court in Stavanger has today (Monday) announced its verdict to hand over the custody of the Indian children in foster care to their uncle," official sources here said here soon after the court's decision was known.

India had put in all diplomatic efforts to ensure that the Indian siblings, Abhigyan and Aishawarya, who were taken into foster care in the Scandinavian country on grounds of negligence by their parents, returned to their homeland and grow up in their family environment.

"It is expected that the children along with their uncle will return to India very shortly. The ministry of external affairs is making all necessary arrangements in this regard," the sources said.

Last month, an alleged family dispute had dealt a setback to Indian government's efforts in getting the two Indian children back with their parents, Anurup Bhattacharya and Sagarika Chakraborty, an NRI couple residing in Stavanger in Norway.

India has sought the early return of the children to India to enable them to be brought up in familiar surroundings under the loving care of their family, which was in their best long-term interests, the government had told parliament last month.

The kids, aged three and one, were taken away from their parents by the child welfare services of the local municipality and placed under emergency foster care in May 2011.

After the Indian government's intervention, the authorities had agreed to recommend to a court in Norway March 23 that the children be placed in the custody of their uncle Arunabhas Bhattacharya.

However, that did not happen immediately after reports of marital discord between the parents surfaced.