<p>India has been urging Germany to return baby girl Ariha after she was taken away by the German authorities in September 2021. <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/59-mps-write-to-german-ambassador-for-return-of-baby-girl-to-india-1224501.html" target="_blank">Fifty-nine MPs</a> from 19 parties in India have written to the German ambassador to India seeking his intervention in ensuring the return of Ariha citing the trauma the child would incur on being shifted from one carer to another.</p>.<p><strong>Why was Ariha taken away from her parents in the first place?</strong></p>.<p>In the year 2018, Bhavesh Shah and his wife Dhara had moved to Berlin for professional reasons. They gave birth to a baby girl, Ariha in 2021, soon after which her grandmother had come to visit the newborn. </p>.<p>Things went downhill for the family when Ariha incurred injuries in her perineum. While the parents immediately took the baby to the hospital, the area of injury made the hospital staff suspicious. Authorities were alerted in what the hospital suspected was a case of sexual assault. </p>.<p>As per a <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/baby-ariha-shah-taken-from-parents-germany-8644093/" target="_blank">report </a>in <em>The Indian Express</em>, Dhara spoke to the media and said that Ariha’s grandmother had “accidentally hurt” the baby on her “outer genital area”. </p>.<p>However, the intricacy of the case prompted German authorities to immediately take the child to foster care allowing the parents to visit only fortnightly. Following this, the authorities also registered a case of child sexual abuse against the parents. </p>.<p>However, after a thorough investigation, in February 2022, the police case was closed without any charges against the parents. The hospital too issued a report ruling out sexual abuse. </p>.<p>Despite that, the baby has not been returned to the parents and the German authorities have been pressing for permanent custody of the child in the German courts. They have claimed that parents are incapable of looking after Ariha and she will be better off in German foster care.</p>.<p>Her custody has since become a diplomatic issue, with New Delhi taking it up with Germany’s foreign minister during a visit to India in December.</p>
<p>India has been urging Germany to return baby girl Ariha after she was taken away by the German authorities in September 2021. <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/59-mps-write-to-german-ambassador-for-return-of-baby-girl-to-india-1224501.html" target="_blank">Fifty-nine MPs</a> from 19 parties in India have written to the German ambassador to India seeking his intervention in ensuring the return of Ariha citing the trauma the child would incur on being shifted from one carer to another.</p>.<p><strong>Why was Ariha taken away from her parents in the first place?</strong></p>.<p>In the year 2018, Bhavesh Shah and his wife Dhara had moved to Berlin for professional reasons. They gave birth to a baby girl, Ariha in 2021, soon after which her grandmother had come to visit the newborn. </p>.<p>Things went downhill for the family when Ariha incurred injuries in her perineum. While the parents immediately took the baby to the hospital, the area of injury made the hospital staff suspicious. Authorities were alerted in what the hospital suspected was a case of sexual assault. </p>.<p>As per a <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/baby-ariha-shah-taken-from-parents-germany-8644093/" target="_blank">report </a>in <em>The Indian Express</em>, Dhara spoke to the media and said that Ariha’s grandmother had “accidentally hurt” the baby on her “outer genital area”. </p>.<p>However, the intricacy of the case prompted German authorities to immediately take the child to foster care allowing the parents to visit only fortnightly. Following this, the authorities also registered a case of child sexual abuse against the parents. </p>.<p>However, after a thorough investigation, in February 2022, the police case was closed without any charges against the parents. The hospital too issued a report ruling out sexual abuse. </p>.<p>Despite that, the baby has not been returned to the parents and the German authorities have been pressing for permanent custody of the child in the German courts. They have claimed that parents are incapable of looking after Ariha and she will be better off in German foster care.</p>.<p>Her custody has since become a diplomatic issue, with New Delhi taking it up with Germany’s foreign minister during a visit to India in December.</p>
