India seeks report into Norway kids' visa row

India's Ministry of External Affairs has sought a report from the Indian Mission in Norway on the status of the visas of the two children of the Indian couple who were taken away by the country's childcare services, media reports said.

The move comes after a major blow to the Bengali couple fighting a custody battle with Norway authorities as the Norwegian child care agency reportedly applied to extend the visa of the children without taking the consent of their parents.

According to reports on Tuesday, Norway's child protection service has approached the country´s immigration office to extend the visas of the Indian children.

The couple from Kolkata, Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya, who are non resident Indian (NRI) citizens received a letter on Tuesday that stated that the couple could appeal against the decision in the next three days.

The couple said that Norway's child protection service Barnevernet took away their two-and-a-half-year-old son Abhigyan and four-month-old daughter Aishwarya on May 11, last year.

The reason cited was that the couple were feeding the children with hands and making them sleep with them in the same bed.

The couple met their children on Friday after a long wait of three months in Norway.

On November 30, a court in Norway ruled that the two children will be placed in separate foster homes till they are 18, with their parents, who currently live in Stavangers city, being permitted to meet them only twice in a year for one hour at a time.

In January, after weeks of pressure from the Indian foreign office and public outrage in India, an apparent compromise was reached when the Norwegian government reportedly agreed to hand over the children to their uncle.