Kasaragod: A childless woman who illegally adopted a newborn boy and raised him as her own for four months had to give him up after an Anganwadi worker and an ASHA visited the biological mother’s house and found the baby missing. It was a harrowing day for the adoptive mother in her mid-50s, clutching the child to her chest, sobbing, begging not to be separated, threatening to end her life, first before the police and then before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).
She was inconsolable, shattered, while the biological mother stood indifferent, refusing to take the child back, said a CWC official. By evening, the boy was “rescued” and handed over to a foundling home in Kasaragod, in line with the law, but crossing a woman’s maternal love. “I don’t know how she will sleep tonight. The baby was bonding well with her,” said the official, who found the day equally traumatic.
The woman told the CWC that she had turned to illegal adoption after her formal application to adopt a child was rejected, citing that she was financially unfit. She is a homemaker; her husband is a daily wage labourer. In 2015, the Kerala government introduced a rule requiring prospective adoptive parents to have an annual income of at least ₹3 lakh. Even those who meet the income requirement, officials say, can later be deemed ineligible during a social investigation for the same reason. “The rule is discriminatory irrespective of its intent. Nowhere else in India does such a financial cap exist,” said the CWC official.
The woman’s secret began to crumble when the Anganwadi worker, responsible for the health, nutrition, and well-being of pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children under six, visited the house of the biological mother near Kumbla, 12 km from Kasaragod town. When she enquired about the child, the woman fumbled and avoided giving a clear answer. Sensing something amiss, the Anganwadi worker alerted the local ASHA and together they approached the Kumbla police.
During questioning, the mother confessed. Her first husband had died, leaving her with two children. Later, she married a man who already had a wife and children and worked in a restaurant in Bengaluru. Four months ago, she gave birth to a boy. “In the first week itself, the child was handed over to the other woman. They must have come to an understanding even before the birth,” said the CWC official.
