After a case of child trafficking in the child-care home in Jharkhand came to public attention, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has ordered inspection in all the child-care centres run by Missionaries of Charity (MoC) founded by Mother Teresa.
An inhumane case of illegal adoption was brought forward in Ranchi, Jharkhand
where a child-care home run by MoC was allegedly found involved in “selling” three children and “giving away” another one. Arrests have been made for the same.
The Jharkhand Police arrested a nun and an employee of the shelter house for child trafficking on July 5. They allegedly sold a baby for ₹1.2 lakhs.
Gandhi ordered the immediate inspection of all the homes run by MoC in the country. She laid directions for all the child-care institutions (CCIs) to get registered and linked to the country’s topmost adoption body Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) within one month.
An official of WDC stated that according to “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”.
Gandhi expressed concern over the fact that the children in the 2300 registered institutions under CARA are yet to be brought within the adoption system.