Norway kid row: Kin of convicted couple blame Indian govt

Hyderabad, Dec 5: Family members of NRI couple, who were convicted by a Norwegian court on Tuesday, Dec 4 for the 'mistreatment' of their child, are miffed with the attitude of Indian government in helping them in a time of crisis. Kin of the couple in Andhra Pradesh said that Indian government had adopted a hands-off approach in assisting the couple.

Moreover, family of Vallabhaneni Chandrasekhar and Anupama has decided to move a higher court to appeal the convictions. Sources say they have a couple of days to go in for appeal.

Chandrasekhar, a techie, and his wife Anupama were held guilty of "serious child abuse" and sentenced to jail terms for 18 months and 15 months, respectively. After receiving the news of couple's conviction, the family members expressed great sorrow.

Both Chandrasekhar and Anupama are native of Andhra Pradesh and had moved to Oslo since 18 months ago. Oslo authorities arrested the couple as they scolded their seven-year-old child Sriram for wetting his school uniform. Apparently, Sriram had told his School teachers that his parents were harsh with him and scared to go home. Hence, the Norway Child Protective Service (NCPS) had taken the boy into their custody and served notice to the couple.

"Oslo District Court has found an Indian couple guilty on several counts of child abuse. In view of the Court, the couple deliberately burned their son's leg with a hot spoon or similar object with the result that the child had burn marks measuring approximately 3 x 5 centimetres," an official statement said.

The court said it was proven that on one occasion, the parents had even threatened to brand their son's tongue with a hot spoon.

The court also found that it had been proven that the parents had on several occasions hit the child with a belt or similar object.

The proven abuse took place over a period of six to seven months and therefore falls under section 219, first paragraph, of the Penal Code on repeated maltreatment.

OneIndia News