The external affairs ministry on Friday expressed dismay over Germany’s decision to abruptly shift Ariha Shah — the two-and-a-half-year-old baby who has been in Berlin’s foster care for 20 months — to a different foster care arrangement, calling for her early return to India.

India has been seeking her return for months now. While Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde wrote to the external affairs minister on Friday for his intervention in securing her early return, 59 MPs from 19 political parties wrote to the German ambassador in India urging him to secure her repatriation at the earliest.

Ariha was taken away from her parents on allegations of sexual assault after she suffered an injury and needed hospitalisation. She has been in German foster care since September 2021 though the police case against her parents was closed in February 2022 without any charges being brought against them.

External affairs ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said: "The (Indian) embassy has repeatedly requested German authorities to ensure that Ariha’s connection with her cultural, religious and linguistic background is not compromised and sought consular access to the child as well as cultural immersion at the Indian Cultural Centre in Berlin."