Gurugram couple brings home minor’s baby, booked for illegal adoption

Gurgaon: A couple, waiting for years to have a child of their own, has been booked for illegally adopting a two-month-old girl. The mother of the child, a minor from Jharkhand, eloped with a man from her state and handed the girl to the couple from Sector 71, police said.

The illegal adoption came to light when the couple visited the One Stop Centre Sakhi — a unit of the Child Welfare Committee — for a birth certificate of the girl. The officials there found that the couple had bypassed the norms for adoption and merely got an affidavit made through a lawyer that said that the minor girl from Jharkhand was willingly handing over her biological daughter to them.

The CWC has taken custody of the child and sent her to a shelter home in Faridabad. Following a complaint at Badshapur police station, the couple has been booked under section 80 (adoption of child without following established provision) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act. The section carries a maximum punishment of one year in jail.

Tapan Roy, a private firm employee, and his wife Jayashri had been trying for a child ever since they got married four years ago.

Originally from North 24-Parganas in West Bengal, Tapan came in contact with Milan Pramanik, a tea seller in Sector 71. Since

Milan is also from Bengal, the two got acquainted with each other easily and would often discuss family matters. One day, when

Tapan expressed his desire to adopt a child, Milan informed him about the minor girl from Jharkhand, who was then pregnant

but wasn’t willing to keep the babyMilan, the police said, organised a meeting between the couple and the would-be mother. “They had a mutual understanding that the girl would hand over her baby a few weeks after birth,” a police officer said.

After bringing the baby home, Tapan and his wife got an affidavit made through a lawyer. The police are planning to question

the lawyer on how he agreed to get the affidavit made when an adoption in the country can only be done through the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) and involves an elaborate procedure that can stretch for months. Questions have also

been raised about the scrutiny of documents before they are given a stamp of approval.

Pinky Malik, the administrator of the One Stop Centre where tehe baby was taken on Thursday, said, “We checked the

documents and found that the adoption was done without following the proper procedure.” The centre informed CWC

chairperson Sunil Kohli and member Upasna. A case was registered against Tapan and his wife and the child brought to the

shelter home in Faridabad. “An investigation is on,” said Dinesh Kumar, the SHO of Badshapur police station