Indian mission offers consular help to arrested couple

India on Friday assured all help to the Indian couple arrested in Norway for allegedly trying to discipline their 7-year-old son for wetting his pants.

Reacting swiftly to the request made by lawyer of the Indian couple -- Chandrashekar Vallabhaneni and his wife Anupama -- an officer of the Indian embassy met the husband after getting consular access, official sources said.

They said that consular officer met Chandrashekar this evening and ascertained his welfare besides asking for information that he may like to convey.

The officer explained the situation to him and assured that the embassy will continue to keep in touch with his lawyer and that it stands ready to assist them, the sources said.

According to the information with the mission, Chandrasekhar, a software professional from Andhra Pradesh, and his wife were taken into custody by the police in Oslo.

The police arrested Chandrasekhar, a TCS employee nine months after the child complained to his school teachers that his parents were threatening to send him back to India for his acts, Chandrasekhar's nephew V Sailender, who is in Hyderabad, claimed.

"My uncle had no idea about the case registered against him initially. He came to Hyderabad along with his wife and children in July and went back to Oslo in the last week of October. Then he was served a notice to appear before the authorities along with his wife," he said.

"My aunt also went to Oslo on November 23 and the couple appeared before the authorities concerned. On November 28, we were informed by my uncle's neighbours in Oslo that they were arrested and remanded," Sailender told PTI.

The boy was found wetting his pants in the school bus which was reported to his father, who in turn 'threatened' the child that he would be sent back to India if he repeated that again, Sailender said, adding the boy was also found bringing toys from school.

The incident comes barely months after another row involving an Indian couple and their children. Abhigyan, 3 and Aishwarya, 4 were taken away from their parents --Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya -- by Norway's Child Welfare Society in May last year on grounds of 'emotional disconnect'.

After an Indian diplomatic push and Norwegian government's intervention, a court in that country in April ended months of custody row by handing over the two children to their India-based uncle who had to travel to Oslo to bring them back.