A Norway court has convicted an Indian couple for alleged child abuse. The police have accused the couple, who is from Andhra Pradesh, of "gross or repeated maltreatment of their children by threats, violence".
The court awarded 15-month jail to Anupama Vallabhaneni and sentenced her husband, Chandrasekhar, to 18 month in jail.
The prosecution had pushed for more a year in jail for the parents for allegedly abusing their child. Prosecutors said the child had burn marks and scars and was beaten with a belt - a charge the family has denied.
The Indian couple was facing criminal charges of "gross or repeated maltreatment" of their child as as the prosecution termed the case as "very serious" and justified their arrest ahead of the court verdict.
"They are facing child abuse case and are charged with gross or repeated maltreatment of their child/children by threats, violence or other wrong, under section 219," Kurt Lir, Head of Prosecution, Oslo Police Department said.
The prosecution has proposed a sentence of 15 months for the mother and 18 months for the father in the case.
Asked why the police arrested the couple -- Chandrasekhar Vallabhaneni, a software professional from Andhra Pradesh, and his wife Anupama before the sentencing, Lir said, it is feared that they will evade prosecution by returning to India.
