Norwegian law not applicable in India: Kids' grandfather

Happy and relieved at the return of his two grandchildren from Norway after a prolonged legal battle, their maternal grandfather Monotosh Chakraborty today said that now that they were in India, Norwegian laws would no longer apply to them. “I am happy and relieved. Norwegian law will not be applicable in India in bringing up the children by their parents and I hope our government will help us in this respect,” said Mr Chakraborty, a resident of Birati in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, said. Mr Chakraborty, who with his wife Sikha, had staged a demonstration in Delhi last year demanding handover of their grandchildren by Norway’s Childcare Service Centre to their parents Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya, said he was grateful to the Indian government for taking up the case. “I hope that the two children will be able to unite with their parents again which is very natural in our Indian context,” Mr Chakraborty said on the return of Abhigyan and Aishwarya to New delhi from Norway. [caption id=“attachment_287202” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Aishwarya Bhattacharya, 1, is carried by her grandmother as she arrives at the airport in New Delhi. AP”]  [/caption] Sagarika Bhattacharya, the mother of the children, who returned to India from Oslo last month, stayed with her father Monotosh Chakraborty at Birati for some days and later left for Mumbai, family sources said. The two children, the sources said, were expected to return to Kulti in Burdwan district, the ancestral house of the Bhattacharyas, tomorrow. Mr Anurup, the father of the two children, was expected to return to India after obtaining permission from the Norwegian government. A Norwegian court had yesterday handed over the two NRI children in foster care to their paternal uncle, ending a custody row that saw India stepping up diplomatic pressure on Norway to send them back after they were taken away by the authorities there last year. PTI