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.
