Adoption racket busted, 34 infants rescued

Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, APRIL 22. The alleged trafficking of children from Lambada (Adivasi) families in Andhra Pradesh, under the guise of `adoption', which rocked the State two years ago, has surfaced once again. Officials of the Women and Child Welfare Department today raided a Hyderabad-based NGO, Action for Social Development, and rescued 34 infants. They have been shifted to the Niloufer Hospital.

On Saturday, the Gulbarga Superintendent of Police, working on a similar racket in Karnataka, visited the John Abraham Memorial Bethany Home, an adoption centre at Tandur, in the neighbouring Ranga Reddy district, and recovered the body of an infant buried in the Home's compound. The Karnataka police arrested Mr. Suryakumar, working in the Gulbarga branch of this Home, and are investigating. Seventeen infants from this Home have been shifted to the Niloufer Hospital by officials of the Women and Child Welfare department. The infants were sick because the ayahs (nannies) working here left the Home fearing police investigation. These were the two NGOs accused of indulging in child adoption without permission.

Inquiry ordered

The Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, has ordered a CB- CID inquiry into these incidents. Mr. Naidu also asked the District Collector, Ranga Reddy district, to visit the Tandur adoption home and submit a report on its activities. He announced the setting up a separate board to monitor all orphanages in the State and a reward of Rs. 1 lakh for those giving information about such activities by voluntary agencies. The Director of Bethany Home has been absconding for a month now.

Mr. N. Sanjeeva Rao of Action for Social Development (ASD) has denied that his organisation was selling children abroad for adoption purposes. Its licence for offering children for adoption was cancelled in 1999 by the Central Adoption Resource Agency, and ASD has challenged this in the High Court, which is pending. Mr. Rao said his organisation rescued infants abandoned by mothers immediately after delivery.

PTI reports:

The Superintendent of Niloufer Hospital, Mr. N.C.K. Reddy, said the condition of the 17 infant girls admitted there was ``stable but not out of danger'' while 40 were sent back to Sishu Vihar, a state-run child care centre, after check-up and medication.

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