Chandrasekhar Valabhaneni a native of Andhra Pradesh and his wife Anupama who were arrested by police, were convicted for gross or repeated maltreatment of their child/children by threats, violence or other wrongdoings. The prosecution proposed a jail sentence of 18 months for the father and 15 months for the mother in the case which was upheld by the Court.

Justifying the charges, the Head of Prosecution of the Oslo Police Department said there were burn marks and scars on the body of the child who was also beaten with a belt.

Indian officials at the Ministry of External Affairs said their embassy in Norway has been in touch with the Indian nationals involved in the case and they will continue to render necessary consular assistance and will be in touch with their lawyer.

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After months of warnings, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board has suspended India's national Olympic committee because of government interference in its election process, thus failing to comply with the world body's demands.

Suspension means the Indian body will stop receiving IOC funding and its officials will be banned from attending Olympic meetings and events. India's athletes will be barred from competing in the Olympic events under their national flag.

An official announcement has not been made yet, and the acting IOA president Vijay Kumar Malhotra confirmed that the association in Delhi has not been intimated on any suspension thus far. An IOC spokesman declined to comment because any decisions taken have to be communicated to the countries involved.

The Indians have been mired in wrangling over the elections to replace Suresh Kalmadi who was jailed for 9 months on corruption charges related to the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Kalmadi decided not to seek re-election.

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The NRI Commission in Chandigarh has decided to mediate in marital disputes between NRIs. It has also proposed to the Punjab and Haryana High Court it set up another NRI court in Jalandhar.

The commission already has a few cases involving matrimonial disputes on its files and is intervening to settle cases amicably and within its own ambit so that the Dowry Act is not misused.

The quasi-judicial authority is the first of its kind and the states of Gujarat and Kerala are also interested in setting up similar commissions. M L Sharma is the secretary of the commission and stated that earlier people did not know which government agency to approach for NRI related problems. Now people can approach the NRI Commission.

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It is well documented that a number of unsuspecting NRIs have been promised a great deal, then dumped into a mess made from corrupt middlemen and others.

A small example of typical malpractices include falsely inflated prices; escalation during construction; hidden costs that are 'hidden'; delayed construction; sub quality materials; and a number of other mind boggling malpractices.

NRIs are cautioned to ensure they choose the right developer, a tough task, but possible to accomplish if one uses a few guidelines such as checking the track record of completed projects; seeking references on customer service quality and research on complaints made by buyers, if any. Look for any history of litigation with a customer or civic agency. Verify all documents in original. These include a title deed, encumbrance certificate, approval of layout of the project etc.

Other cautionary measures must also be taken before taking possession of the property.

Trustworthy agents, builders, sellers and their ilk are sadly hard to find, so again an NRIs best bet is to work with a professional lawyer, banker and accountant.

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The government of India has said it will not intervene in a legal case involving an NRI couple detained for child abuse in Oslo, Norway.

The couple who have allegedly had trouble with Norwegian authorities in the past were charged with gross repeated maltreatment of their 7-year-old son by threats, violence or other wrong doing, for which the prosecution proposed a minimum prison sentence of one year and three months for the mother and one year six months for the father.

Oslo police say Chandrasekhar Vallabhaneni, a software professional from Andhra Pradesh and his wife Anupama, an officer of the Indian embassy, have been remanded to custody as there is reason to fear they will evade prosecution by returning to India.

The son complained to his school teachers that his parents threatened to send him back to India after he was found bringing toys home from school and wetting his pants on the school bus.

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