Childline saves two kids in Malappuram

Malappuram: Over the past two weeks, Childline in Malappuram rescued a 40-day-old infant and a three-year-old boy, who were illegally adopted by couples in Pulikkal and Veliyancode, respectively. The children, who were produced before the child welfare committee were then shifted to shelter homes. After a preliminary investigation, CWC will hand over the cases to police for detailed investigation. These children were rescued after Childline received anonymous calls with a tip that the adoption process was illegal and hence it suspects that there could be more such cases, controlled by rackets. The infant’s case came up before authorities on Wednesday, the Childline coordinator Anwar Karakkadan said that the statement given by the couple from Pulikkal indicated that the infant (daughter of a Malayali couple) was adopted illegally with the help of a mediator.

Meanwhile, the couple from Veliyancode said that they had adopted the boy illegally from his parents in Tamil Nadu by paying Rs 2.5 lakh three years ago. So, Childline has some ground to suspect that groups or rackets in Tamil Nadu may be involved in the crime. “We need to meet the biological parents of the children to know why they sold their kids. As we cannot rule out the possibility of abduction, people should not encourage illegal adoptions,” he said. Chairman Shajesh Bhaskar said CWC has sought a detailed social investigation report (SIR) from district child protection unit (DCPU) in both cases and further action will be taken after receiving the same.

It is being argued that childless couples were convinced to choose the illegal adoption route as the legal route involves stringent, time-consuming

procedures. Last year, central adoption resource authority (CARA), a statutory body of the Union ministry of women and child development, had issued new guideless for adoption, making existing laws more stringent. Parents must register for adoption through legal adoption centres and it will conduct a ‘home study’ to analyse the social status and family background of applicants. The allotment of children is a centralized process and adoption is done on priority basis after perusing applicants.