NEW DELHI,Febrauary29,2012: Norway's Child Welfare Service (CWS) on Tuesday announced that it had decided to award the care of two Indian children to their uncle, allowing him to take them back home. The move marked a victory for the aggrieved parents of Aishwarya (1) and old Abhigyan (3) as well as those who rallied behind them in their fight against the `insensitive' ways of Norwegian authorities. The announcement came after what was described as satisfactory talks between India's special envoy Madhusudhan Ganapathi and Norwegian authorities. Ganapathi, secretary (West) in the MEA was sent to Norway to clinch a resolution of the dispute over the heartrending manner in which Aishwarya and Abhigyan were taken away from their parents - Sagarika and Anurup Bhattacharya -because they had `neglected' the children. CWS' stance was seen as a "breakthrough" for the Bhattacharyas and their sympathizers. In a statement, CWS said that this arrangement would be subject to their ensuring necessary legal framework and follow-up procedures ``in order to safeguard the children's best interests and enable the uncle to deal with the situation in the best possible way''. CWS said that the proposed solution will be presented to Stavanger District Court that will take the final decision in the case. ``The provisional date for the hearing has been set for 23 March,'' it said. Foreign minister S M Krishna had on Tuesday morning met the grandparents of the children and assured them that the government would do all it can to get the children repatriated. Justifying its decision to extend residence permits for the children, the CWS said that this was a ``practical technicality" as it is seeking to keep the children in Norway ``for longer than is necessary to arrive at a satisfactory solution to the case''. The Norwegian authorities, it said, will ask India to ensure the necessary follow-up for the children in the event of their return to India. ``In order to process the case concerning the two Indian children, who were taken into the care of Stavanger municipality and placed in a Norwegian foster home, the Child Welfare Service has had to apply for an extension to the children's residence permits,'' it said. Accusing the NRI couple of negligence, Norwegian child welfare officials had in last May placed Aishwarya and Abhigyan in foster care. Norwegian authorities claimed that the children were living with an Indian family.
