Norway custody row: MEA calls NGO seeking custody of children

The Ministry of External Affairs has asked Kolkata-based NGO India's Smile, which has sought custody of the two Indian children caught in a custody row in Norway, to meet its officials in Delhi on April nine.

The communication followed the NGO filing a petition to the MEA on March 23 stating that it be given permission to bring back the two Indian children from Norway following differences between the parents, NGO's secretary trustee Rajeev Sarkar said today.

"We sought permission of the Government of India to allow us to bring back the two children Abhigyan (3) and Aishwaraya (1) children of Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya and gave details of all correspondences and developments which have taken place so far," Sarkar told PTI.

In its petition, the NGO has urged the government to take up with Norway the 'inhuman attitude' of its childcare centre and condemn its activities.

"It is a year that the children have been separated from their parents and even a very very strong family can break down under such a circumstance," he said.