V. Chandrasekhar and Anupama, who were convicted of inflicting “serious abuse” on their seven-year-old son Sai Sriram, have filed an appeal in a higher court in Norway, even as Andhra Pradesh intensified its pitch for the Centre’s intervention to secure the couple’s release.
Mr. Chandrasekhar and Ms. Anupama were awarded sentences of 18 months and 15 months respectively by an Oslo district court for gross maltreatment of their child by using threats/violence. The couple filed an appeal in a higher court.
According to a PTI report quoting Oslo police sources, the defence contended, during Thursday’s hearing, that the couple should be released pending a decision on the appeal. The prosecution submitted that they could not be released and should be kept under detention till the final outcome of the appeal.
The Oslo district court said the couple had “deliberately burned their son’s leg with a hot spoon or a similar object with the result that the child had burn marks measuring approximately 3x5 centimetres.”
Further, the court said, it had been proven that the parents threatened to brand their son’s tongue with a hot spoon. The jail terms of 18 months for the father and 15 months for the mother were proposed by the prosecution.
Kin call on CM
While the couple filed an appeal in the higher court, their relatives, called on Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, and explained to him the hardships the children would face in the absence of their parents. In separate letters addressed to External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, Mr. Reddy sought the Centre’s intervention in ensuring that the couple were granted amnesty at the earliest.
Mr. Reddy asserted that the parents tried to inculcate discipline in their child and the incident which the Norway police referred to occurred nine months ago. The couple had the responsibility of taking care of their children, who had stayed back in Hyderabad, as well as their aged parents.
Indian ‘practices’
Mr. Reddy appealed to the Union Ministers to explain to the Norwegian authorities about family traditions and practices in India and ensure that the arrested couple were granted amnesty.
Keywords: Kiran Kumar Reddy, Norway child abuse case, Indian couple arrest, Chandrasekhar Vallabhaneni, Overseas Affairs Ministry, Vayalar Ravi, Norway couple case
From the first name, it appears these parents belong to Kamma community in Andhra. Because of the political influence this community wields in the state I am not surprised that CM is taking personal interest irrespective of the actions and facts and however poorly they reflect on the Indian traditions and family values at large. This rally speaks volumes about the society in Andhra and degradation in its values because of a political system that is dominated by uncivilized class of people.
2/2
It is perhaps not easy to determine who should have the final say - the state or
traditions ir-respective of whether these traditions have a religious or cultural
origin. A court in Cologne, Germany recently banned circumcision of young boys,
ruling that “...the procedure is bodily harm...even when done properly by a doctor
with the permission of the parents ....if it is carried out on a boy unable to give his
own consent.” Representatives of Jewish & Muslim communities called the ruling
insensitive and discriminatory, saying it was an attack on centuries of religious
tradition.
In the Norwegian case, it appears that the state view prevails. The newspaper
Aftenposten of 4th Dec writes “...Signals have been sent. In Norway, violence or
threats against children will not be accepted - whatever be the cultural mis-
interpretations Indian parents cite.... If a child has experienced fear and has been subjected to threats, that contravenes Norwegian
law..”
½
Mr. Reddy wants the Central government to explain to Norwegian authorities about
Indian family traditions and practises, ostensibly to convince the Norwegian
judiciary that certain Indian parenting traditions such as spanking are not crimes in
India should therefore be viewed through an Indian cultural prism. Unfortunately,
the matter is a lot more problematic for the Norwegian judiciary.
The main issue is that tolerating spanking as a cultural phenomenon could become
a slippery slope and other communities would want their religious and cultural
practices to be accommodated by Norwegian law too. Certain African countries
practise female circumcision with horrible medical and psychological complications
later in life. Should that be allowed? Should honour killings of girls be allowed?
Child marriage? Polygamy? Death for blasphemy? The list is long...
At CWG I heard about 'standards of Indian hygiene' and now it's 'family traditions and practices on parenting'. We Indians are mastered in high levels of tolerance and this teaching starts from our very childhood. This is all.
Reportedly, one of the crimes for which this kid was tortured was pissing his pants. Again, why doesn't Norway send a delegation to India to observe how effectivly the traditional Indian way of childrearing teaches men to hold their bladders? As opposed to evil, permissive Norway, where, you know, everyone just pisses in the street. Savages.
The AP CM's defence of the couple for deliberately burning their child's leg with a hot spoon or a similar object and also threatening to brand his tongue similarly shows that he is prepared to condone their causing serious injury to their child to"inculcate
discipline" is nothing short of barbarism.
Please Email the Editor