In touch with 'competent Indian authorities' on issue of Victoria Basu: Russian Embassy

New Delhi, Nov 1 (IANS) The Russian Embassy in New Delhi on Saturday dismissed a series of local media reports about Victoria Basu, terming them as "speculative" and asserting that they do not correspond to reality.

Victoria, a Russian citizen who has been residing in India since 2019, allegedly fled to her country with her four-year-old child amidst an ongoing custody dispute with her estranged Indian husband.

"The Embassy took note of a series of publications in some local media concerning the situation involving a Russian citizen, Victoria Basu. Regrettably, they do not correspond to reality and are based on speculations," read a statement issued by the Russian diplomatic mission in New Delhi.

"The Embassy implements its priority duties to ensure and defend rights and legitimate interests of Russian citizens in full accordance with the Indian legislation. With regard to the matter of Basu, we maintain close contact with the competent Indian authorities," it added.

The statement came a day after the Supreme Court voiced concerns over the absence of a concrete response from the Russian Embassy regarding the whereabouts of the Russian woman.

"We do not want to pass any order that impacts relations between the two countries but it is also an important matter as it is about a kid. We can only hope that the child is well and healthy as he is with the mother. But we hope it is not a case of child trafficking and he is not indulging in other exploitative activities in Russia,” NDTV quoted a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi as saying, while granting authorities two additional weeks to seek assistance from the Russian officials.

The apex court made the observation while reviewing two status reports – one from the Delhi Police and another from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) - outlining the efforts to trace Victoria and the child.

Saikat Basu, the child's father, reportedly said that he had no information about their whereabouts as the custody battle with his estranged Russian woman continues.

--IANS

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