Washington: Expressing concern over increasing "abduction" of American children to India, an influential lawmaker has said that the country has been a source of immense frustration and grief for parents in the U.S.
"India has been a source of immense frustration and grief for American parents," said Congressman Christopher Smith, chairing a Congressional hearing on "Resolving International Parental Child Abductions to Non-Hague Convention Countries"
The Republican lawmaker from New Jersey said that in 2012, 32 children were abducted to India bringing the total number to 78 open abduction cases involving 95 children.
"Although Indian courts make Hague-like decisions to return some children, returns are at best uneven. Parents attempting to utilise India's courts for the return of abducted children report corruption and incessant delays," he said.
Smith said the U.S. does not have a bilateral agreement with India to facilitate the return of American citizen children to the U.S.
Testifying before the Congressional committee, Bindu Philips, a mother of twins, Albert Philip Jacob and Alfred William Jacob, who have been allegedly abducted to India by her ex-husband, narrated her emotional and tragic story.
Neither the U.S. Embassy nor the Indian Government have been of any help to her, she told lawmakers.
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