‘We hand over Ariha to 140 cr Indians’: Parents to Indian Govt after German court denies Indian baby's custody
2 min read 18 Jun 2023, 08:29 AM ISTBerlin court refuses custody of 27-month-old Ariha Shah to her parents citing evidence of intentional injuries, grants custody to Youth Welfare Office.
PremiumIn Germany, a Berlin court has refused to grant the custody of a 27-month-old Ariha Shah to her own parents, rather handed her over to the Youth Welfare Office (Jugendamt). The baby was in Jugendamt custody since September 2021.
According to a report published by India Today, the court granted Ariha's custody to the German state on Friday. It also dismissed the claims of her parents that the injury sustained by the baby was ‘accidental’.
However, Ariha's parents did not lose hope and are hopeful that Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Foreign Minister Dr. Jaishankar would help them in bringing their kid back to India.
They said, “We hand over Ariha to 140 crores Bhartiyas today."
Initially, Ariha's parents sought her custody but had then urged that she be handed over to the Indian Welfare Services, Indian Express reported.
While denying the custody to India, the Berlin court pointed to two injuries, one on the head and another on the back, that Ariha had suffered in April 2021. Hence, the court stated that parental care was being denied to avert the existing danger to the child, the report added.
The court also said it had come to the conviction that the parents had intentionally caused serious genital injuries to the child as they were unable to justify the events, India Today said in a report.
Meanwhile, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on June 2 said that Ariha's stay in Germany's foster care is of deep concern to the Indian government and her parents.
He reiterated that Ariha is an Indian national and her socio-cultural background is the most important determinant of where her foster care is to be provided, the report said.
A total of 59 MPs from 19 political parties have written to German Ambassador to India Dr Philipp Ackermann and requested to return Ariha to India.
“India can well look after her own children," the letter read.