A non-resident Indian couple whose two children were taken away by the Norwegian childcare services on grounds of “emotional disconnect” and “improper” upbringing got some relief on Wednesday when both sides agreed that the kids be handed over to their Kolkata-based uncle.
The out-of-court settlement on the intervention of the Indian and Norwegian governments is yet to receive the court’s nod.
The three-year-old son and one-year-old daughter of Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya were put under foster care after the local childcare centre at Stavanger town, where Anurup works as a geo-scientist, complained to the national body.
The charges included the children being fed by hand, the son not having his own bed, unsuitable clothes and toys and insufficient space in the room for them to play in.
The children’s uncle is expected to leave for Norway to take them under his care.
The couple are planning to return to India. “We are relieved. But we want to come to back. The children need our support. I have to look for a job in India now,” said Anurup.