Illegal adoption taking root in Goa?

PANJIM: Last month, the police machinery led an unstoppable hunt amidst a heavy downpour to trace a toddler, abducted by an unidentified woman from the government-run Goa Medical College and Hospital.

The case was cracked but what unfolded the serious crime of separating a breastfeeding mother from her child shook the conscience of the State. Obsession with a son, usually unheard of in a State with 87.40 per cent literacy rate, was the sole reason why the woman took the crime route. This has triggered a debate across various platforms.

We, however, look at how in Goa there is alleged illegal adoption amidst instances of unwed mothers or financially-poor families handing over their newborns – irrespective of the gender – to wealthy couples.

About four years ago, the Goa Police was shown the real side of illegal adoption following a complaint lodged by Victim Assistance Unit (VAU). A Goan couple living in the UK had illegally adopted a girl child from a daily-wage earning couple hailing from Karnataka.

Ironically, the couple who illegally adopted the child did not take her with them to UK but instead handed over her custody to the sister of one of the accused living in Goa. The child, excellent in academics and sports, was ill-treated and physically abused. An investigation unearthed the dark side of what can also be termed as smuggling of innocent children. Unfortunately, the child’s biological parents refused to take her back and she was later given in the custody of the Child Welfare Committee.

Quite a few cases have come to the fore but unfortunately did not reach the police. Herald has learnt that while some unregistered institutions are actively involved in illegal adoption, some private clinics admit pregnant mothers without proper verification.

Credible informants have shared details about how newborns are exchanged for money. The police don’t act despite a complaint. This was in 2019 when VAU alleged that a private hospital in Mapusa had admitted an underage single mother in a fake name. The single mother, a native of Maharashtra, had allegedly made a deal with a Goan couple to give away the baby to them.

She delivered a baby boy and the couple flew down from Kuwait to illegally adopt him. The names of the adoptive parents were put on the birth certificate, not that of the biological mother. The case was closed without any probe and the parents reportedly flew away with the illegally adopted baby.

Herald has also come across information that some mothers manage to hoodwink the hospital authorities by registering the names of adoptive parents and handing over the newborn soon after the birth. More often than not, some of these childless couples – impatient to adopt children legally – are turning to illegal means of adoption. Likewise, women from a poor background or unwed single woman in the advance stage of pregnancy are targeted.

Dr Madhu Ghodkirekar, Associate Professor, Forensic Medicine, GMCH has said that ever since Goa Children’s Act has come into force, parents in Goa avoid going to government hospital for admission of unmarried pregnant girls or widows. “They prefer private maternity hospitals where such hand over of babies become smooth and without the scanner of legal hassles,” he said.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data indicates that as of 2019 year, 18 boys and 19 girls below the age of 18 years have remained untraceable. These certainly include infants. In the year 2019 itself, seven boys and 24 girls below the majority age were reported to be missing.

“If not for the present case, the State wouldn’t know about how far a person can go to get a male child. It has become evident that such a desire is prevalent in the Goan society too. It’s time that authorities also crackdown on illegal adoption. Government should come up with strict laws to ensure no hospital or clinic, either government-run or privately owned allow these illegalities to happen,” said an activist.

Herald further reached out to Goa State Women’s Commission Chairperson Vidhya Gaude who stated that their team will launch a project on the subject about illegal adoption subject to availability of funds. “We have taken up the matter in our individual capacity and we are keen to conduct a detailed study provided availability of funds,” she said. The Commission is currently examining the toddler’s kidnapping incident and conducting counseling of both the women - alleged kidnapper and the victim child’s mother.