ADOPTION Scandal: WCD Ministry Asks States To Inspect Mother Teresa Founded Child Care Homes
IN the wake of child trafficking by some nuns attached to Missionaries of for Charities founded by Mother Teresa in Ranchi, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has asked all the states to get the child-care homes run by the MOC inspected immediately. She also has also directed the states to ensure that all the child-care institutions (CCIs) were registered and linked to the country’s apex adoption body within a month.
According to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, registration of CCIs and their linking with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is mandatory, but some orphanages have challenged the validity of the clause. In a Statement issued in New Delhi the WCD is concerned after reported sale of new- borns from Ranchi MOC for alleged
illegal adoptions. And hence, the order has been issued. Approximately 2,300 CCIs have been linked to CARA since December last year, while about 4,000 more are still pending for linkage. Gandhi has expressed displeasure over the fact that the children in the 2,300 institutions linked to CARA are yet to be brought under an adoption system. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), 2,32,937 children are currently under the care of CCIs — both registered and unregistered — in the country.
Meanwhile, The First Post said Jharkhand Police said that they have found the fourth child “given away for free” by a woman who worked as a nun for a shelter home run by Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Ranchi. The police statement came a day after the woman “confessed” about having sold three children and giving away the fourth for free to different persons. The Jharkand Police also claimed that sister named Konsalia has confessed committed the offence and said she had “sold” the three kids to three persons. An employee of the charity-run shelter home ‘Nirmal Hriday’ was arrested on 4 July for allegedly selling a child born to a minor inmate of the home to a couple from Uttar Pradesh. Sister Konsalia was arrested on 5 July in connection with the case. The baby was rescued on 3 July. The second child was rescued from Morabadi area of Ranchi on 8 July and the third of the four children was rescued from Simdega in Jharkhand eight days later. The racket at the Ranchi branch triggered a state-wide crackdown on shelter homes, particularly those run by the Missionaries of Charity. The chairperson of Jharkhand’s child protection body said the state had formed teams to inspect all its shelter homes and hoped to receive their reports in early August. “If we find any one operating such homes illegally, strong action will be taken.
