Sister, staff of Missionaries of Charity held for selling baby in Ranchi

A woman staffer and a sister of Nirmal Hriday, a shelter home run by the Missionaries of Charity, a charity started by Mother Teresa, at Jail Road in Ranchi, were arrested for allegedly selling a child born to a minor inmate of the home, to a couple, police said on Thursday.

The arrests were made on the basis of a complaint filed by Rupa Verma on Wednesday, the chairperson of Child Welfare Committee of Ranchi district, they said.

While the staffer was arrested on Wednesday, the sister was arrested on Thursday, a police officers said.

“Anima Indwar, a woman employee of Nirmal Hriday, and Sister Konsalia, were arrested and forwarded to judicial custody for 14 days,” Kotwali police station officer in-charge Shyamanand Mandal said.

In her complaint, Verma said that a couple from Uttar Pradesh’s Shone Bhadra district had approached the CWC after the shelter home allegedly took away the child they had earlier given them on May 14, Mandal said.

The couple had told Verma that they had to pay Rs 1.2 lakh to Nirmal Hriday on May 1 to get the custody of the baby boy.

“The UP-based family alleged that Anima Indwar, who handed over the child to them, had called them up on June 30 and asked them to visit the shelter for completing certain formalities on July 1, and when the child was brought to the shelter home, Indwar took the boy away,” the chairperson of Ranchi district CWC said.

Verma also said that Indwar had called up the couple a day after the CWC carried out a surprise check at Nirmal Hriday, that provides shelter to unwed mothers, and seized
important documents.

She said the CWC carried out an inspection on June 29, and Anima called up the family the next day and asked them to come to the shelter home with the adopted the child on July 1 for completing some legal formalities.

The family came to the home on July 1 when Anima allegedly took away the child and did not return the bay to them, resulting in the family reporting to the CWC on July 3.

“The couple, with no help in sight, knocked the doors of CWC for help. The boy is in custody of CWC at present,” Verma said, claiming that a baby-selling racket has been operating from the shelter house for some time.

The pregnant inmate of Nirmal Hriday gave birth to a baby boy on May 1.

A deal was made on May 14 between the couple and Anima Indwar, the chairperson of the Ranchi district Child Welfare Committee said.

The family that adopted the child has relatives in Ranchi, Verma said.

The Nirmal Hriday provides shelter to girls who are rescued through the CWC, Verma said.

Image used for representational purposes only. Photograph: Andrew Biraj/Reuters