After Prime Minister Narendra Modi met German chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra said the issue f baby Ariha Shah’s custody case is being closely pursued by New Delhi with the German authorities. “This is something of great sensitivity, something which we deeply care about, something on which our embassy has been in very close touch with the parents and the German authorities in trying to find a way forward,” the foreign secretary said.
“Since it involves a baby, there are serious issues regarding privacy. I don’t think it would be correct for me to comment on those. But this is something we deeply care about, we are very sensitive and are regularly in close touch with the parents relating to this case,” the foreign secretary said.
The case dates back to 2020 when Ariha Shah’s custody was taken by the German authorities after the baby was accidentally hurt by her grandmother. Since then, the custody battle is going on. The case has come to the surface amid renewed debate about the old Abhigyan-Aishwarya case which is the subject of a yet-to-be-released movie: Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway.
Hashtag ‘boycott Germany’ trended on Twitter after the release of the movie trailer as it shed light on the similar case of baby Ariha where the battle is still on.
The German authorities alleged sexual assault of the baby by the family members.
In December last year, foreign minister S Jaishankar said India has concerns that baby Ariha should be in her linguistic, religious, cultural and social environment. “Our embassy is pursuing this with German authorities. It was a subject which I brought up with the Minister,” the EAM said.