Zeenews Bureau
Oslo: An Indian couple in Norway has been remanded to custody over fear that they will evade prosecution by returning to India, a statement by Oslo Police Department said.
Chandrashekhar Vallabhaneni and his wife Anupama were arrested by Norway’s police on Monday for chiding their son.
The couple has been charged with 'gross/repeated maltreatment' of their child by threats, violence/other wrong doing, under Section 219 of Norwegian law, added reports.
The prosecution has reportedly proposed a sentence of 1 year and 3 months for the mother, and 1 year and 6 months for the father of the child.
The Court of Appeals is in process of hearing the defence's appeal and the judgment will be pronounced in Oslo District Court on December 03.
Indian authorities are making efforts to seek release of the couple. According to their family, an officer of the Indian embassy met Chandrashekar, who is in police custody, in Oslo on Friday and assured him full assistance. According to information reaching here, the officer collected all the details of the case and spoke to Chandrashekhar, an employee of software giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
The couple was arrested nine months after their seven-year-old child Sriram complained to his school teachers that his parents were threatening to send him back to India for wetting his pants.
Originally hailing from Krishna district in coastal Andhra, Chandrasekhar was sent to Oslo by his company last year to handle a project. The family returned home in July this year.
Chandrasekhar again left for Norway on November 23 for work. This time he went only with his wife leaving behind his both sons. A court in Oslo issued summons and later police arrested them.
Chandrasekhar's parents and other family members here were worried about the couple. They appealed to the state and the central government to intervene to seek their release.
According to the report, the child welfare authorities took Sriram for a month, but later returned him to his parents.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy directed Chief Secretary Minni Mathew to get in touch with the officials of the Ministry of External Affairs to seek the release of the couple.
(With IANS inputs)
First Published: Saturday, December 01, 2012, 11:20