'Kids happier with foster parents'

NEW DELHI: Misfortune and uncertainty are dogging the two children — Abhigyan (3) and Aishwarya (1) — separated from their parents by Norway's Child Welfare Services . In a dramatic unravelling of the case, the children's father, Anurup Bhattacharya , has filed for legal separation from his wife, Sagarika. Not just that, he now wants the kids to remain in Norway and their uncle, who was to get their custody, no longer wants to be their guardian.The fast-paced developments took place after Anurup filed for separation, alleging he was being repeatedly beaten by his wife. Possibly fearing estrangement from her children, Sagarika is learned to have threatened to sue the uncle, Arunabhash Bhattacharya, if he were to take the children's custody and bring them to India. This made Arunabhash decline their guardianship.The scheduled March 23 hearing of the case at a court in Stavanger, Norway, has been put off. The children will remain in the care of CWS instead of being handed over to Arunabhash as per an agreement signed by the parents, uncle and CWS. Two diplomats, Banashri Bose Harrison and M Gandhi, who were supposed to be present in Stavanger for the custody hearing on Friday, are cancelling their travel.The entire case was upended this week with Anurup revealing the deep fissures in the marriage that caused the Norwegian government to take the steps it did in the first place. Anurup went to the extent of clearing child welfare services' name, deflected the blame to Sagarika and her "severe psychological problems".Even Arunabhas, the uncle , was quoted as saying that the children seemed happier with their foster parents (who are also Indians), while worrying that he may not be able to give the same support to them in Kolkata.Sources said the domestic condition of the Bhattacharyas was no secret to the Norwegian authorities. According to Gunnar Torensen, head of CWS, the parents have been under intensive counseling for months before the state intervened to put the children in foster care. In an interview earlier this month, Toresen described the children as seriously "damaged" , suffering from "emotional detachment disorder".The children were apparently subjected to violence or had witnessed severe violence at home. The Bhattacharyas had explained the traumatized condition of the children as a result of them being separated from their parents.The Norwegian government and the MEA, who had taken up the expenses for this case and frequent travels by the family and officials, will no longer do so. The new circumstances throw new light on the case, and make the vilification of Norway in the Indian media and public discourse unfair.It had been argued that Norway's skewed laws had allowed the children to be taken away from their biological parents. The Bhattacharyas had also said their children had been taken away because of cultural differences – such as, the fact that the children were fed by hand, or that they slept with their parents. This was greeted with shock and disgust in India.