Jharkhand CM orders probe into selling of baby by staff of shelter home run by Missionaries of Charity

Chief Minister Raghubar Das today ordered a probe by Jharkhand State Child Protection Commission (JSCPC) into the selling of a baby by the staff of a shelter home run by Missionaries of Charity here.

A woman staffer and a sister of Nirmal Hriday, a shelter home run by the Missionaries of Charity at Jail Road here, were arrested last week for allegedly selling a child born to a minor inmate of the home to a Uttar Pradesh-based couple.

The chief minister ordered a probe by the commission into the selling of the baby, an official release stated.

The chief minister said stringent action would be taken against the non-governmental organisations indulging in sale of infants and exploitation of pregnant women, it stated.

Reviewing Jharkhand State Child Protection Commission, Das said the commission would identify such institutions indulging in wrongdoing and submit its report to the government by August 15.

Action would be taken against any institution indulging in such activities, the release said.

Chairperson of Ranchi unit of Child Welfare Committee (CWC) Rupa Verma had on Wednesday filed a complaint against Nirmal Hriday staffer Anima Indwar for allegedly selling an infant boy to a UP-based couple.

The next day, the staffer and the sister were arrested in the case.

The Nirmal Hriday provides shelter to girls who are rescued through the CWC.

Subsequently, the CWC had shifted 22 kids of Nirmal Hriday and Shishu Niketan, both run by Mother Teresa-founded Missionaries of Charity. The shelter home was also sealed.

Expressing shock over the incident, the Missionaries of Charity headquarters in Kolkata had on Friday issued a statement, saying it would take necessary action to find out the truth.

"We are shocked at such news, which totally goes against the value and ethics espoused by the Missionaries of Charity (MIC), the nuns and its founder. The MIC is looking into the allegations against the accused employees in Jharkhand with all seriousness," Sunita Kumar, a spokesperson of the foundation, said.

Kumar, in the statement, also clarified that the Missionaries of Charity had stopped putting up children for adoption three years ago.

In her complaint, Verma had said that a couple from UP's Shone Bhadra district approached the CWC after Nirmal Hriday allegedly took away the child they had given them on May 14.

The couple told Verma that they had to pay Rs 1.2 lakh to the shelter home on May 1 to get custody of the baby boy.