The Ministry of External Affairs is making efforts to push for an early return of a three-and-a-half-year-old girl from Thane district, who has been in foster care in Germany for the past 36 months following allegations of minor physical abuse, Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske has said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has assured him that the government is expediting legal processes to secure the return of the girl, Ariha, who is in German foster care. Her parents, who are currently in Germany, can now meet their daughter twice a month, said Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske in a release on Thursday.