5-year-old taken away from Indian couple in Norway, Sushma Swaraj seeks report

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today sought a report from the Indian Ambassador in Norway on the allegations of an Indian couple that the Norwegian authorities have taken away their five-year-old child on frivolous complaint of abuse.

"I have asked Indian Ambassador in Norway to send me a report," Swaraj tweeted.

BJP leader Vijay Jolly had written to her and the Indian Ambassador in Norway after the couple sought his help in getting back the custody of their child. 

Meanwhile, MEA officials said, "Our Embassy officials in Oslo have spoken to the boy's father Anil Kumar Sharma and extended full support. However, Sharma informed the mission that he has hired a lawyer to represent him in the case." 

When contacted, Norwegian Embassy spokesperson said, "The Embassy became aware of this case yesterday evening. We have asked relevant authorities in Norway to provide us with further information, and are awaiting their response." 

In his letter to Indian Ambassador Debraj Pradhan, Jolly had raised concern on "forcible custody" of the boy Aryan by Child Welfare Department of Norway on "baseless and fabricated complaint" in Oslo on December 13. Sharma is a member of 'Overseas Friends of BJP'. 

Jolly said he has received a call from a senior MEA official saying that help will be given to the Indian couple. 

This is the third case since 2011 when children have been taken away from their Indian-origin parents by the authorities in Norway on the grounds of abuse. 

In 2011, a three-year-old and a one-year-old were separated from their parents, prompting the then UPA government to take up the issue with Norway. The Norwegian court later allowed the children to be reunited with their parents. 

In December 2012, an Indian couple was jailed on charges of ill treatment of their children, 7 and two years. Later, they were were sent to their grandparents in Hyderabad.

Norway’s child protection service, Barnevernet, provides a host of services to parents in need. But more controversially, it also removes children from their homes, placing them in institutions or foster families due to perceived shortcomings in their care, or if they are subjected to child-rearing methods perceived as violent.

Norwegian law bans all forms of corporal punishment of children, including slaps and spankings, and even feeding the kid with hands is considered an atrocity.