Baby Ariha Who Was Taken Away To Foster Care In Germany Could Soon Reunite With Her Parents

Bobins Abraham
Bobins Abraham
Updated on Jun 03, 2023, 16:22 IST- 3 min read
Setback For Baby Ariha Shah's Parents As Berlin Court Gives Custody Of The Girl To German State

India has stepped up diplomatic pressure to repatriate the daughter of an Indian couple who was separated from her parents and has been placed in foster care in Germany.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the MEA and the Embassy of India in Berlin have been persistently advocating for the return of Ariha Shah to India.

Baby Ariha Who Was Taken Away To Foster Care In Germany Could Soon Reunite With Her Parents BCCL

In foster care for 20 months

Ariha Shah, the daughter of Bhavesh Shah and Dhara Shah, was taken away from her parents in 2021 after a doctor reported a suspected sexual assault on her.

"MEA and the Embassy of India, Berlin, have been persistently advocating for the return of Ariha Shah to India. The child is an Indian national and was placed in the custody of Germany's Youth Welfare Office (Jugendamt) on 23 September 2021, when she was 7 months old. She has now been in foster care for more than 20 months," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

Baby Ariha Who Was Taken Away To Foster Care In Germany Could Soon Reunite With Her Parents BCCL/FILE

We want Ariha to be brought back

"We have been requesting Germany to return the child to India. The Embassy has repeatedly requested German authorities to ensure that Ariha's connection with her cultural, religious and linguistic background is not compromised and sought consular access to the child as well as cultural immersion at the Indian Cultural Centre in Berlin," he added.

He further mentioned that the government urged German authorities to send Ariha to India as soon as possible.

"We would like to reiterate that Ariha Shah is an Indian national and her nationality and socio-cultural background is the most important determinant of where her foster care is to be provided. We urge German authorities to do all that is necessary to send Ariha to India at the earliest, which is also her inalienable right as an Indian national. We remain committed to ensuring the return of Ariha Shah to India," he said.

Baby Ariha Who Was Taken Away To Foster Care In Germany Could Soon Reunite With Her Parents BCCL

MPs writer to German Ambassador 

Earlier, a group of 59 MPs had written to the German Ambassador to India for the repatriation of Ariha.

On Thursday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar seeking his assistance in bringing Ariha back home.

What happened to baby Ariha?

The family had claimed that the injury on their daughter's private part was an accidental one and not sexual assault.

Baby Ariha Who Was Taken Away To Foster Care In Germany Could Soon Reunite With Her Parents BCCL

Despite them being cleared of the allegations and the case against them closed, the couple did not get their daughter back and the German child services even opened a case against them for the termination of the child's custody.

The parents were only allowed to meet the girl for an hour every month, that too under the supervision of a social worker.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He writes on Environment, Sustainability, Human-Animal conflict and South India.