Two doctors arrested in adoption case

12 June 2010
Two doctors arrested in adoption case
Asseem Shaikh, TNN, Jun 12, 2010, 01.03am IST
  
PUNE: The Yerawada police on Friday arrested two doctors and the manager of the Gurukul Godavari Balak Ashram in the illegal adoption case of a six-month-old baby. 

A magistrate court remanded the doctors — Sanjeevkumar Bhate (42) of Phursungi and Nandkumar Nalawde (37) of Manjari — and manager Rajan Kusalkar (21) of Gultekdi to police custody till June 14. 

With the three arrests, the total number of people who have been arrested in the case has gone up to six. Earlier, the police had arrested ashram president Matthew Yanmal, Preet Mandir caretaker Shivaji Sanake and school teacher Santosh Shinde in the case. 

Senior police inspector Deepak Sawant of the Yerawada police station told TOI that Dr Bhate, upon a request from Yanmal, had got the mother admitted to the maternity home run by Dr Nalawade at Manjari. 

The newborn, which was diagnosed with HIV, was given up for adoption to one Anita Yadav of Mumbai in 2009 when it six months old. The fact that the baby boy had HIV was not told to Yadav. The child died six months later. 

According to inspector Sawant, Dr Bhate, Yanmal and Kusalkar forged documents to give the child up for adoption to Yadav. Dr Nalawade, who performed the delivery along with Dr Bhate, neither kept a record of the delivery nor did he inform the gram panchayat, which is mandatory, Sawant said.