Oslo,
Dec 4: Indian couple Vallabhaneni Chandrasekhar and Anupama were
sentenced by the district court here for roughing up their son. While
Chandrasekhar was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment, his wife
Anupama was sentenced to 15 months.
The court has permitted the couple to appeal against the judgment in the high court.
Chandrasekhar, an employee of Tata Consultancy Services has gone on deputation to Norway along with his wife and two sons.
They
have admitted the children in a local school as the deputation was for
18 months. Elder son Sai Sri Ram (7) is mischievous and used to cause
trouble to the parents. They reportedly chided the boy for wetting his
pants. They even threatened to send him back to India. The boy has
complained about his parents to his teachers who in turn complained to
the child welfare department. Authorities of the department have taken
the boy away and conducted various tests on him to know the intensity of
the ill-treatment his parents have meted out to him. After a month, the
boy was sent back to the parents after due counseling.
The
authorities have apparently booked a case then and the couple was not
however informed about it then. The couple came back to India with their
children. Chandrasekhar was asked to go back to Oslo on another
assignment recently. Unaware that a case was already registered against
them, Chandrasekhar went there again along with his wife, leaving the
children behind. Police have arrested both on December 23, for
harassment of their son. Prosecutors have even recommended the
punishment. On a request from the Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, the
union minister Vayilar Ravi has contacted the Indian Embassy in Oslo and
enquired the possibility of getting the couple released. However after
being told that the India could not interfere in the laws of Norway, the
central government has expressed its inability to intervene.
Parents shocked
Back
in Hyderabad, The parents of V. Chandrasekhar and his wife Anupama,
broke down on hearing the news of their conviction. A family member said
they were shocked.
They termed the verdict "one-sided" as
the court did not take into account the issues raised by the couple,
including the report sent by a psychiatrist from here.
"There
was no response to our concerns. We came to know that the court did not
take into account the points raised by our lawyer. This is not a
digestible situation," Chandrasekhar's nephew V. Sailendra told
reporters at their residence in Miyapur here.
"We have the
option of appealing in a higher court and we will exercise that
option," he added. The couple's children -- seven-year-old Sai Sriram
and his two-year-old younger brother -- are living with their
grandparents at Miyapur.
"Our biggest worry is how to
handle the children because they are inquiring about their parents. They
want to know because newspapers and television channels are carrying
their pictures," said another family member.
Sailendra
said both the children were depressed and they were sending regular
reports to the Oslo police about their health condition.
"What
kind of justice is this? This verdict has separated the children from
their parents. The children can't live without them. The two-year-old is
very attached to them and he needs their care," he said.
The
family alleged that the authorities in Norway have blown the issue out
of proportion when Sriram had told his school teacher that the parents
chided him for bed-wetting.
Psychiatrist Kalyan Chakravarthi, in his report sent to Oslo court, said he had several sessions of counseling with the boy.
According
to him, Sriram is 'mild to moderate' case of attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (APHD) and was showing positive signs till the
situation turned awry with the arrest of his parents.
The
family members are also unhappy with the Indian government for not doing
anything to help the couple. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid
ruled out any intervention, saying the issue relates to a private
citizen and to the local law of that country.
The couple was arrested by police in Oslo last week on charges of "gross or repeated maltreatment" of their child.
Justifying
their arrest, the Oslo police have termed the case as "very serious". A
police officer has been quoted as saying that the boy bore burn marks
and scars on his body and that he was beaten with belt.
The
couple's lawyer denied that they hurt the boy but said they had some
difficulties in handling him. The family members said the boy had
sustained some accidental injuries while playing.
The
arrest was made nine months after 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 with his family returned home
in July this year. Chandrasekhar again left for Norway on Nov 23 for
work. This time he went only with his wife leaving behind both his sons.
The
family members said the couple had gone to Norway in response to the
summons issued by the Oslo court. "They wanted to close the case and
clear their name before returning to India. They did not expect things
to take this ugly turn," said a family member.
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