Adoptive parents identified for 2 more children in trafficking case

The infamous child trafficking racket unearthed over two-and-a-half years ago in Mysuru appears to be slowly taking a legally appropriate course, with the authorities identifying suitable adoptive parents for six children after handing over two children to their biological mothers.

Of the 16 children, who were separated from childless couples in Karnataka and Kerala in November 2016 as they had paid money and illegally taken children from a maternity home in Mysuru, four have been entrusted to adoptive parents while two children will be handed over next week.

The adoption procedure has been carried out as per the guidelines of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), which functions under the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, Mysuru district child protection officer M.K. Kumaraswamy told The Hindu.

The process of handing over the children to adoptive parents began after the Mysuru district Child Welfare Committee (CWC) declared the children legally free for adoption. The adoptive parents, who enrolled themselves as per legal procedure, will take custody of the children after meeting eligibility and seniority criteria under CARA guidelines.

The process of entrusting the children to adoptive parents started after the CWC carried out a DNA test of the children to identify their biological mothers. Though four biological mothers were identified, only two of them took custody of their children. While one biological mother, who leads a life seeking alms in Nanjangud, expressed helplessness to take custody of her child, another biological mother cited her unwed status as a hurdle.

Ironically, it was a complaint by the alms-seeker which led to the police investigation and eventually blew the lid off the baby-selling racket at the maternity home in Mysuru. While her child remains in Bapuji Children’s Home in Mysuru, the child of the unwed mother is among the six children for whom adoptive parents had been identified.

When the racket was unearthed, there was hue and cry among one section of activists. They had favoured a reunion of the children with the caregivers, who had purchased them illegally, on the grounds that they were emotionally attached to each other. Another group ruled out the course, lest it sets a precedence for unlawful adoptions. Three of the caregivers have challenged the decision to separate the children from them and the case is currently pending in the High Court. They currently have custody of the children.“We have filed an appeal in the High Court,” Mr. Kumaraswamy said.

Of the remaining children, one died at a child care home in Mandya in May 2017, and thr others are in adoption agencies in Mysuru, Mandya and Melkote. Though advocate P.P. Baburaj said he filed a case seeking interim custody for caregivers of three children, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the authorities will oppose any move to legalise the illegal act of paying money to adopt children.

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