We have very close contact with MEA: German envoy on Ariha case

Germany's ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann on Wednesday said German authorities are in "very close contact" with the ministry of external affairs and the relevant youth authorities in connection with the case of an Indian girl who has been in foster care in that country.

IMAGE: Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel HD Kumaraswamy meets with German ambassador to India and Bhutan Philipp Ackermann (right), in New Delhi, July 19, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo

He said this in response to a query during a press interaction held at his residence in New Delhi on what Germany was willing to do bring over three-year-old Ariha back and whether her issue will be raised at the "highest level".

"We have clearly a commitment by the foster parents to look into this cultural background, and on this basis we continue to work to find a satisfactory solution for the future of the child. So, it might be raised, it is a clear possibility that it might be raised and I think, my side, my government is prepared...," the envoy said.

The ambassador also said, "We have, as you now, very close contact with the MEA and the relevant youth authorities... on this case."

Thane MP Naresh Mhaske in August had said the MEA was making efforts to push for an early return of Ariha, who hails from Thane district.

She has been in foster care in Germany for the past over 36 months following allegations of minor physical abuse.

Ariha's parents Bhavesh and Dhara Shah are residents of Mira Bhayander in Thane district.

After the Thane MP raised the matter in Parliament recently, the foreign minister wrote to him detailing the efforts being made through his ministry.

"It was as a result of 'our' intervention that the German youth welfare authorities decided against appealing the court orders granting visitation for the parents," Jaishankar had said in his letter dated August 16.

The media interaction at the envoy's residence in New Delhi was held ahead of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to India during which he will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Now, the German legal system is such that youth authorities are completely independent and don't get orders from anyone. Basically, in many, many ways it is a convincing exercise rather than a commanding exercise," he further said in his response to Ariha case.

Ackermann said, "What we have achieved in the last couple of months is, I think, language training, in principle is there, exposure to culture is there, exposure to festivities. We have a very regular contact between the kid and the parent, and that works."