Russian embassy denies role in aiding woman’s escape with minor son

The embassy also denied Delhi Police’s allegation that Gerbst arranged a rental vehicle for Basu’s journey to Nepal, and rejected the claim that an official embassy car had been used in any manner connected to the Basu family.

New Delhi: The Russian embassy has denied any involvement of its officers named by the Delhi Police for allegedly helping a missing Russian woman flee India with her minor son in violation of a Supreme Court order – the latest twist in the international custody dispute.

Russian woman fled India with her minor son in violation of a Supreme Court order (Biplov Bhuyan/HT PHOTO)

The woman, Viktoriia Basu, is accused of fleeing the country with her minor son without informing the child’s father.

In a status report filed before the Supreme Court ahead of Friday’s hearing, the Delhi Police placed on record a communication from the Russian embassy to the Union ministry of external affairs (MEA). In it, the embassy said that counsellor Arthur Gerbst, accused of arranging a vehicle to help Basu travel to Bihar and then to Nepal, had merely requested a taxi booking on behalf of Basu’s mother, Olga Zhigalina.

The embassy insisted it had no role in facilitating Basu’s exit.

According to the communication, “In early July 2025, Mr Arthur Gerbst, counsellor of the embassy, contacted Mr Sehgal and as a favour asked him to book a taxi to Bihar for Ms Olga Zhigalina as per her earlier request. No more information was required or made available for the arrangement… Mr Gerbst had previously been requested for the same on several occasions by Ms Olga.”

The embassy also denied Delhi Police’s allegation that Gerbst arranged a rental vehicle for Basu’s journey to Nepal, and rejected the claim that an official embassy car had been used in any manner connected to the Basu family.

However, the police maintained that their investigation has uncovered “clear evidence” of the involvement of two Russian officials – identified by Delhi Police as Albert Shtoda and Arthur Gerbst – in securing the vehicle that transported Basu on July 7 from Delhi to the Indo-Nepal border in Bihar, from where she travelled onward to Russia via Sharjah.

Responding to the MEA’s November 19 letter forwarding the embassy’s clarification, the Delhi Police told the court that the information provided was “factually incorrect.” On November 24, the police sent a fresh request through MEA seeking details on the officials’ roles and clarification of their diplomatic immunity status.

Last month, the Supreme Court had sharply questioned why the police had not sought custodial interrogation of the embassy officers and why no Red Corner Notice (RCN) had been issued for Basu.

In the new report, the police informed the court that the RCN process has now been initiated, and that a request for custodial interrogation of the officials was forwarded to MEA on November 11.

MEA, in its affidavit to the court, confirmed the embassy’s stance and added, “The Russian Embassy in New Delhi has conveyed… that there was no role of the two concerned Russian diplomats in the alleged abduction of the minor child and that the claims against the diplomats have no legal ground.” The ministry has nevertheless asked the Russian embassy to waive the diplomatic immunity of both officials under Article 32 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, to enable further investigation.

India has also approached the prosecutor general of Russia under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty seeking the whereabouts of Basu and her son.

Basu, who arrived in India in 2019, approached the courts in 2023 seeking full custody of her son after her marriage collapsed. After several failed reconciliation attempts, the Supreme Court in May granted shared custody, allowing each parent three days a week with the child. The court also extended Basu’s visa and directed the police to keep her residence under watch. Her husband informed the court on July 7 that she had gone missing – prompting the court to direct both the police and the MEA to intervene.