New Delhi: Amidst a call by the opposition to take up the issue of baby Ariha, the Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said the government had summoned the German Ambassador over the matter of the 2-year-old child’s situation in foster care in Germany.
Addressing the weekly media briefing in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "At a minimum, we believe this child’s cultural rights and rights as an Indian are being infringed upon by her being placed in German foster care". “The German Ambassador to India was summoned this week and our concerns were clearly conveyed to him. We have also asked for the early return of the child to India and we will continue to press German authorities on this matter,” he said.
This comes a day after Ariha's mother Dhara Shah met with the Members of Parliament to appeal for help and urge the government to press for Ariha to be transferred to a foster care in India, where she can be raised as an Indian and among her own community. According to sources familiar with the development, German ambassador Phillip Ackerman has been summoned by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra this week to discuss the latest development in Ariha's case.
According to reports, in an order on June 13, a court in Berlin held that Baby Ariha, who was then 8 months old, had suffered brutal injuries while in the care of her parents Dhara and Bhavesh Shah, a charge they have denied. The court also rejected the plea for her to return to India to stay with an Indian foster family.
Also read: India urges Germany to send back baby Ariha at the earliest: MEA
