NEW DELHI: The hearing on a final agreement in the Norway custody case scheduled for March 23 has been cancelled. The news was confirmed by the Norwegian Child Welfare Services who claim that the NRI parents Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya and the paternal uncle, who was to be made guardian of the two kids, have changed their position several times in recent days.
Norway has said that they won't give the two children Abhigyan and Aishwarya to their uncle even if he is willing to. Gunnar Toresen, head of the Norway child welfare services said, "The parents and uncle have changed their position many times in the recent days. The Child Welfare Service is no longer confident that they want to enter into a genuine agreement. Even if the family comes to an agreement now, the children could be caught up in a very unfortunate tug of war in India."
Earlier on Wednesday, their uncle refused to take the custody of the two children after reports of marital dispute between Anurup and Sagarika.
Anurup alleged his wife Sagarika had a psychological problem. However, after reports that Anurup had accused his wife Sagarika of marital violence, he denied the allegations and also blamed the media for distorting the facts.
The Indian government on the other hand said that the Norway children custody case had turned into the couple's personal dispute and the government may back off if the parents confirm that there is a family dispute, according to sources. Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur said the custody battle is a personal matter between the husband and wife. Two Indian diplomats who were supposed to leave for Norway are not going now.
The two children have been in foster care since May, 2011 with the Norwegian child services worried about their safety. The two were expected to return to Kolkata within days, but may now continue to live in Norway.