Child found, a racket revealed?

In search of a better future, six-day-old girl given away by biological parents in Jalgaon to a couple, who forge papers and sell her to a transgender duo — one of whom is lodged in jail currently; two women agents found to be involved in the sale; police catch up with the culprits, arrest them & decide to take responsibility for child’s education; activist says such children are often forced into begging & state should look into matter

If one were to pause and weigh, illegal adoption of children would emerge as an equal menace in society as human trafficking — with both being related somewhere. When the crime branch of the city police rescued a toddler it was a veritable opening of the Pandora’s Box pointing unflinchingly towards both the evils.

The girl child was caught in a rigmarole of illegal adoption for one-and-a-half years after she was given away by her biological parents when she was just six days old. The child travelled to different cities and had three different pairs of parents, including one who is lodged in jail with murder charges at present. She is in safe hands now and the police have decided to educate her by collecting funds themselves.

The enormity of such cases can be gauged from the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) data which states that 6,533 human trafficking victims were rescued in India last year and 2,877 of them were children. Similarly, 4,709 victims were rescued in 2020 and 2,222 of them were children. The data suggests that such cases, especially of children, have increased by over 27 per cent last year as compared to 2020.

It may be noted that the six-day-old child was given up for adoption in January 2021 to a couple since the parents could not take care of her because of financial constraints. They already had four children. The parents, based in Jalgaon, hoped their child would have a better future if she lived with someone with financial stability. However, it was a case of illegal adoption. Taking advantage of this, the adoptive parents sold the toddler to a transgender couple in Pune by fraudulently making the adoption papers. They claimed it was their child and earned Rs 1.7 lakh through the change of hands.

The matter came to light when the crime branch unit nabbed one of the accused identified as Ketan Kudale following a specific input on the matter. Kudale revealed that his transgender partner Deepa Rajmane, who paid money for the child, was in jail in a murder case.

After over one-and-a-half years when the biological parents were informed what had happened to their child, they were taken aback. Although it was not easy to trace them initially, the investigation thread led the police to the couple who had adopted the child illegally in Jalgaon.

Police have arrested the couple identified as Deepak Mali and Sangita Mali. Also, two persons who acted as agents to connect the couple to the transgenders in Pune, have been booked. One of them, Manisha Patil, has been arrested in the case, while the other, Renuka Supekar, is on the run.

“We have arrested four accused so far and we are searching for one more woman. One accused is already in jail,” said senior police inspector of the crime branch unit Rajneesh Nirmal. He also said that the child is being taken care of by an NGO and it will be handed over to her biological parents after a DNA test is done.

But the men in khaki have taken up responsibility for the child’s education. Nirmal told Mirror that they have decided to take care of the child’s educational expenses as her biological parents are very poor. “We have decided to educate her in a good institute and give her a better future. We have discussed the matter with her parents and they have agreed to it,” he said.

As part of the initiative, they have already collected Rs 50,000 to give it to the parents for now. The family will also be provided the help of a social activist in Jalgaon. The activist will make sure that assistance from the police reaches the beneficiary. They are also trying to rope in the local police for help.

The Pune police team expressed its wish to make her a police officer in due course of time.

Meanwhile, child rights activists have raised concerns over illegal adoption in the state and demanded action for their prevention. “There are strict rules for adoption in our country. Such cases are dangerous. Parents with such issues should reach out to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) for help and the CWC can take care of the child. Parents should not hand them over to anyone like this.” Yamini Abde, a child rights activist, told Mirror.

She appreciated the fact that the police have decided to take care of the child.

Abde also said that in some cases, these children are used for begging by criminals. “Often, surgery is performed on children to make them transgenders and then they are forced to beg. Although these cases are rare, it is dangerous. People involved in child trafficking have a criminal mind,” she said.

Rupali Chkankar, chairperson of the state women’s commission said she will intervene in the matter to ensure that the child is provided help under the government schemes. “This is an unfortunate incident. The commission will direct the administration to ensure that the child is provided help under the government schemes available” Chakankar told Mirror.

She also highlighted the need for collective participation of various agencies to bring provisions to prevent incidents of child trafficking. “The commission is already working to ensure the effective implementation of antihuman trafficking laws. The commission will also focus on public awareness and counselling regarding family planning” she said.

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