The two NRI toddlers at the centre of a custody battle returned to India today morning after spending nearly a year in foster care in Norway. Abhigyan (3) and Aishwarya (1),who were escorted by uncle Arunabhas Bhattacharya and their Norwegian foster father,were received at the Delhi airport by their paternal grandparents,relatives and Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur. The Indian government,that had applied diplmatic pressure for the children to be returned to the family,welcomed their return. Thanking Norway and its judicial system for such an enlightened decision,Minister for External Affairs S M Krishna said: They belong to India. They are Indian nationals. I am confident that the uncle will take care of them in the environment of their extended family in India. Kaur said Abhigyan instantly recognised his grandparents and the family is eager to begin lives afresh. Later in the evening,the children left for Kolkata. The protracted legal battle over their custody had ended yesterday with a Norwegian court handing them over to paternal uncle Arunabhas. The children had been taken away from parents Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya by Norways Child Welfare Services on grounds of emotional disconnect and negligence. Parents of the children fought the move,calling it a case of cultural misunderstanding. Norway said the resolution of the issue illustrated the good relations between the two countries. The two governments have been working very closely, Norwegian Ambassador Ann Ollestad said. Thanking the government and media,the maternal grandfather,Monotosh Chakraborty,said that now that they were in India,Norwegian laws would no longer apply to the parents of Abhigyan and Aishwarya in raising them. I hope our government will help us in this respect, Chakraborty,a resident of Birati in North 24 Parganas district,said. I hope that the two children will be able to unite with their parents again,which is very natural in our Indian context, Chakraborty said. The childrens mother Sagarika,according to some reports,is estanged from her husband and this was alleged to be one of the reasons for the children being taken away. with PTI in Kolkata
