Norway child row: India will not intervene

The Indian government may find it difficult to intervene in the arrest of an Indian couple in Norway for alleged “gross repeated maltreatment” of their seven-year-old son. Jayanth Jacob reports.

The Indian government may find it difficult to intervene in the arrest of an Indian couple in Norway for alleged “gross repeated maltreatment” of their seven-year-old son.

While the prosecution has proposed a 15-month sentence for the father, V Chandrasekhar Vallabhaneni, a software professional from Andhra Pradesh, Anupama, the mother, could get 18 months.

The couple have been remanded in custody as the prosecution fear they may return to India to evade trial, a statement from Oslo police said. The verdict is expected on Monday.

Police arrested Chandrasekhar after his son complained to school teachers that his parents had threatened to send him back to India.

The child was reprimanded for wetting his pants in the school bus, according to Chandrasekhar's nephew V Sailender, who is in Hyderabad.

The incident comes barely months after another row involving an Indian couple and their children in Norway. At that time, the Indian authorities had taken up the matter strongly.

But this time, there is little that the government can do, since the incident involves two adults in a legal process for violation of law. India has sought consular access and officials from the Indian mission met Chandrasekhar to ensure things are smooth, sources said.

(With agency inputs)