NEW DELHI: Fifty-nine Members of Parliament, from 19 political parties, have written to the German Ambassador asking for the early repatriation of baby Ariha Shah who has been under forced German foster care for over 20 months now.
The signatories include MPs Jaya Bachchan, Hema Malini, Shashi Tharoor, Mahua Moitra, Dr Farooq Abdullah, Priyanka Chaturvedi and others. The letter addressed to German Ambassador, Dr Phillip Ackerman, reads that though they respect German laws since there are no criminal cases against the parents, the child should be repatriated to India.
The German authorities had taken custody of Ariha Shah in September 2021, when she was seven months old, alleging that the parents harassed her. “Baby Ariha was taken away from her parents in September 2021 when she was seven months old by German Child Services. This was after the child had suffered an accident and was hospitalised.
An initial probe had begun on allegations of child sexual abuse but this was found baseless and the case was closed without any charges being levelled against the parents. Following this, the child was shifted to special child care and then moved to foster care. As Members of Parliament, we have special responsibility for the welfare of our citizens. We request you to do whatever necessary to send the child back to India,” said the letter signed by Rajya Sabha MP Dr John Brittas on behalf of the other 58 MPs.
The German Ambassador refrained from making any comments on the letter. The parents, are practising Jains, and have raised objections on what the child has been fed in foster care – which is contrary to their culture and beliefs.
The Ministry of External Affairs said they have been persistently advocating for Ariha's return. “Our efforts have been guided by the best interests of the child, which we believe can be fully realised only when she is in her home country.”
No child’s play