NRI woman in Sweden claims son being held in foster care

KOLKATA: Close on the heels of the Norway child custody row, a similar case has come to light in Sweden where an NRI woman has claimed that her son is being held in foster care on charges of neglect and sought help from Indian authorities.

Inspired by the recent release of Abhigyan and Aishwarya by a Norwegian civil court and their return to India in the custody of their uncle, NRI mother Annie Johansson has also sought the help of Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharyas for getting custody of her 11-year-old son Domenic from Swedish authorities.

Her son is being held by the Swedish Gotland Municipal Social Welfare Committee, Kolkata-based NGO India's Smile, which has claimed to have brought to light the custody row over the two NRI children in Norway, told PTI.

She has contacted the NGO from Visby in Sweden, India's Smile secretary Trustee Rajeev Sarkar said.

The NGO said that the authorities of Gotland Municipal Social Welfare Committee had allegedly taken away her son in 2009 and placed him in an emergency foster home on the ground that the parents were not taking proper care of him.

The mother alleged that the Swedish authority which had no idea of Indian culture and tradition, held that Domenic was not being reared suitably.

Annie, the NGO said, has sought help of the Indian people and government to get back her son, and would also like to return to India permanently from Sweden once Domenic's custody was restored to her.