Norwegian police takes child of Indian couple into custody: Sushma seeks report

New Delhi [India], Dec. 22 (ANI): External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday sought a report from Indian Ambassador to Norway Debraj Pradhan after Norwegain authorities took custody of a five-year-old child of an Indian couple following allegations of abuse. "I have asked Indian Ambassador in Norway to send me a report," Sushma Tweeted in response to the Indian Express report. In the report, the boy's father Anil Kumar, who owns an Indian restaurant, said that the Child Welfare Department of Norway took custody of his son on December 13 at 9.30 am, from his kindergarten school without informing them. He further said that four policemen took his wife into custody and she was interrogated for three hours. Meanwhile, BJP leader Vijay Jolly also met Norwegian embassy officials on Wednesday and flagged the issue. This is the third case since 2011 when children have been taken away from 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, aged 7 and 2 years. Later, they were handed over to their grandparents in Hyderabad. (ANI)