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Immigrant sues over lost custody of child in Miss.

Immigrant sues over lost custody of child in Miss.
By Shelia Byrd
Associated Press
Published: Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010 1:47 p.m. MDT

JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi officials conspired to take the infant of an illegal immigrant from Mexico so the girl could be adopted by a white couple, a civil rights group charged Thursday in a federal lawsuit.

The Southern Poverty Law Center said Cirila Baltazar Cruz was separated from her daughter, Ruby, for a year before her child was returned to her in 2009 after the intervention of the group.

Cruz had the baby at Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula in November 2008. Two days after the child was born she was taken from her mother when the Mississippi Department of Human Services deemed Cruz unfit, according to the lawsuit.

Cruz — who spoke no English and little Spanish and could not read or write — was interviewed by a hospital interpreter. The interpreter spoke Spanish, not Chatino, a dialect indigenous to Cruz's native Oaxaca in rural Mexico, the group's lawsuit alleges.

After talking with Cruz, the interpreter told one of the immigrant's relatives that Cruz was trading sex for housing and wanted to give the child up for adoption, according to the lawsuit. Cruz said in the court filing that she tried to explain to the interpreter she worked in a Chinese restaurant and lived in an apartment.

"When they tried to take my baby away I felt that I was done wrong, and I was very angry. It was a very painful experience for me and for my baby. This is why I want other people to know, because I don't want anyone else to go through the same experience," Cruz said in a statement released Thursday by the SPLC. Cruz is back in Mexico with her daughter.

The lawsuit, which names MDHS, Singing River Health System and others, seeks monetary damages and alleges the state officials conspired to deny Cruz and her child their constitutional rights to family integrity, said Mary Bauer, the law center's legal director. It also alleges Cruz was targeted by state officials because of her race and nationality.

"It's hard to put a value on losing your daughter for year," Bauer said. "It's one of the most outrageous cases we've ever seen."

The child was placed in the home of Wendy and Douglas Tynes, two attorneys who lived in Ocean Springs and were foster parents. The complaint said the Tynes were seeking to adopt. The suit alleges MDHS officials conspired with a youth court judge and the Tynes to keep Cruz from her daughter so she could be adopted by the couple.

Messages left at the Tynes' offices weren't immediately returned.

Even before the lawsuit, the case had drawn national and international attention, prompting a federal review and an agreement that requires Mississippi to notify the Mexican consulate when similar situations occur.

MDHS declined to comment.

Countries: Mexico, United States of America

Maid abandons newborn near dustbin, held

TNN, Aug 12, 2010, 11.19pm ISTPUNE: A maidservant facing financial hardships abandoned her newborn child near a dustbin at Mohammedwadi around 3 am on Thursday. However, the child was rescued by some alert women residents of the area, who also questioned the maidservant and finally handed her over to the police.

The woman, Vandana Kamble (24) of Krishnanagar, has a three-year-old son too. After parting ways with her husband around four years back, she was living with a plumber, Ganesh Kochpote (27).

Senior police inspector Prasad Hasabnis of the Kondhwa police station told TOI that under interrogation, Vandana confessed that she had delivered the baby boy at her residence on Wednesday and that she had abandoned him at the dustbin the very next day as she felt she was too impoverished to raise him.

Vandana has been charged under section 318 of the Indian Penal Code.

Similar cases of women abandoning their newborn babies have been reported in the past in the city but this is for the first time that a mother has been caught and handed over to the police.

Asma Shaikh, one of the woman who helped in rescuing the child, told TOI that people had started gathering near the dustbin after they heard the child crying at around 5.30 am. The child was wrapped in a saree.

Shaikh said a group of women picked up the child and called up the police control room at telephone number 100. The police took the child into their custody and requested the residents to find out if any pregnant woman had delivered a baby.

Another resident, Sujata Kasbe, said, "We suspected Vandana as she was the only woman in the area who was pregnant. Vandana denied abandoning the child but could not tell us what had become of her pregnancy."

Another woman, Maya Nalawade, said, "We asked Vandana to accompany us for a medical check-up. She was reluctant but eventually agreed to see a doctor. While we were going to the nearby hospital, she admitted to having abandoned the child."

Countries: India

'Don't arrest me, I have swine flu'

'Don't arrest me, I have swine flu'
By: Kaumudi Gurjar Date: 2010-08-11 Place: Pune

Preet Mandir managing trustee Bhasin pleads illness, but can't avoid arrest in adoption case as tests show he is fit

When it's payback time, there is no dearth of interesting excuses. Managing trustee of Balwant Kartar Foundation (known as Preet Mandir) Sardar Joginder Singh Bhasin allegedly tried to evade arrest for his involvement in illegal adoptions by pleading ill.

Sources at Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said, "He came with the excuse that he was suffering from swine flu, hypertension, malignant tumour, chest pain and a number of other ailments. He was then escorted to J J Hospital to rule out any serious illness that would stop his arrest."

Bhasin was arrested on Monday evening in the office of Superintendent of Police of CBI in Mumbai. Bhasin was produced before Special Judge J D Kulkarni and was remanded to custody till August 13.

Bhasin's arrest is expected to open a can of worms of illegal adoption racket, as CBI investigators believe that officials of the Central Adoption Resources Agency (CARA) have helped Bhasin to run the adoption racket by granting the No Objection Certificates (NOC).

CBI's preliminary investigations revealed that Bhasin had created fake non-acceptance slips and also managed to get NOC's from CARA. Bhasin had allegedly obtained rejection slips from at least 70 parents with the motive of sending their children for inter-country adoption in the period between 2002 and 2007.

A parent Ramesh Datttatray Kulkarni had given a statement on how his four children were given up for inter-country adoption while he was kept in the dark about this activity. Bhasin had also allegedly extorted money from some adoptive parents.

According to CBI officials, "Seventy such cases have surfaced in which Bhasin charged more than Rs 50,000 from each adoptive parent. Moreover, Bhasin misappropriated at least Rs 25 lakh from the orphanage fund for his own benefit during this period by using his personal credit."

Organizations: ACT CASE Preet Mandir

Adoption racket: managing trustee held

Adoption racket: managing trustee held
Posted: Wed Aug 11 2010

Preet mandir : Bhasin carged with forgery, kidnapping 1

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Joginder Singh Bhasin (71), managing trustee of Preet Mandir, on Monday in Belapur and charged him with forgery, cheating, kidnapping and misappropriation of funds amounting to Rs 25.7 lakh.

He was produced before special judge J D Kulkarni on Tuesday and was remanded in police custody till Friday. This is the first arrest in the illegal adoption case. The CBI requested four-day custody to investigate about the modus operandi, conversion of the misappropriated amount and to find out the role of other co-accused and beneficiaries.

CBI lawyer Manoj Chalandan submitted to the court that parents had given temporary custody of their children to Preet Mandir due to their compelling domestic and financial condition. However, parents were asked to sign permanent relinquishment deed of children fraudulently without their knowledge. Chalandan submitted that one of the witnesses Ramesh Dattatraya Kulkarni’s four children were taken away by Preet Mandir and are yet to be found. He further submitted that Preet Mandir produced fake and bogus non-acceptance slips, adoption coordination clearance, no-objection certificate from Central Adoption Resources Agency (CARA). Bhasin had sent one Namrata for inter country adoption without ACA clearance with unidentified CARA officials abusing their official position to issue an NoC. There have been 70 instances of illegal adoption between 2002 and 2005 in which he charged excess money of Rs 50,000 from adoptive parents. He also alleged that Bhasin has misappropriated the orphanage fund for his own use to the tune of Rs 25,70,016 between 2002 and 2007.

Persons: Sardar Joginder Singh Bhasin

Organizations: ACT CASE Preet Mandir, ACT CASE Ramesh Kulkarni

Preet Mandir trustee held in adoption case

Preet Mandir trustee held in adoption case

Asseem Shaikh, TNN, Aug 11, 2010, 06.04am IST

Tags:vashi and jj hospital in mumbai|preet mandir trustee|central bureau of investigation

PUNE: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Pune-based Preet Mandir managing trusteeJoginder Singh Bhasin in Navi Mumbai on Monday evening for his alleged involvement in the "inter-country adoption racket". This is the first arrest in the case.

A special court here on Tuesday remanded Bhasin to CBI custody till August 13.

Bhasin had moved the Bombay high court for anticipatory bail after he was denied interim relief by the district and sessions court in Pune on July 30. During the hearing for the anticipatory bail plea on Monday, the CBI sought 15 days' time to oppose the bail. With Bhasin not getting any interim relief from the high court, the CBI arrested him at the office of the superintendent of police (CBI) at Belapur in Navi Mumbai at 6.20 pm.

Bhasin created a scene at the CBI office on being told of his arrest. He covered his face with a mask, saying he was suffering from swine flu and that he was experiencing chest pain. He was taken to the NNMC hospital at Vashi and JJ hospital in Mumbai for medical check-ups. However, the doctors reportedly told the CBI that he was physically fit and had no medical problems.

Organizations: ACT CASE Preet Mandir

The rise and fall of Preet Mandir

Mumbai, Aug 11, 2010 | by Kulthe, Bhagyashree

The arrest of JS Bhasin, the founding trustee of Balwant Kartar Anand Foundation's adoption agency, Preet Mandir, is a shocking development as none other than (then president) APJ Abdul Kalam had visited it in February 2005.

According to researcher Arun Dhole, Preet Mandir was founded in 1979 by the late Sardar Kartar Singh Anand. It is managed by the Balwant Kartar Anand Foundation, which is registered in Kanpur.

In 1997, one of the founding trustees, Sardar Joginder Singh Bhasin (JS Bhasin), took over the management and started expanding Preet Mandir. Under his leadership, the foundation began running several units and had planned projects in other states.

Organizations: ACT CASE Preet Mandir, ACT IN THE NEWS

It happens only in India: An adoption record in five lines

Published: Tuesday, Aug 10, 2010, 3:07 IST
By Mayura Janwalkar | Place: Mumbai

The 35-year-old record of the inter-country adoption of Daksha Van Dijck, which the Bombay high court had directed its registry to trace, turned out to be four-five handwritten lines in the registry’s record.

Van Dijck, now a psychologist, was adopted in 1975 by Dutch national Johan Van Dijck and raised in Netherlands. She came back to India in 2001 in search of her biological parents. But in the course of tracing them what Van Dijck found was a reason to believe that she may have been kidnapped as a baby and given away in a foreign adoption.

On the last occasion, the court had asked the registry to locate the documents related to Van Dijck’s adoption. On Monday, the prothonotary and senior master A Rodrigues showed the record available to the court. As per the record of 1975 produced by the registry, a handwritten entry made in blue ink states the name of Alibera and Company as advocates for the petitioners and the name of a representative of the Indian Council of Social Welfare.

The entry states, “Petition granted.”

The registry so far has not been unable to trace an order of the court granting the custody of Van Dijck to her adoptive parents.
Van Dijck who lives in Maastricht in Netherlands has moved the Bombay high court along with Anjali Pawar-Kate of Against Child Trafficking, an international NGO, against commissioner of police (CP), Mumbai and the senior inspector of police of the Matunga police station seeking a court direction for them to register an FIR against Shraddhashram Mahilasharm based on a complaint filed by Van Dijck.

On Monday, her advocate Shabana Ansari told the court that there is no police inquiry report in terms of the adoption but a mere affidavit stating that the child (Van Dijck) is free for adoption. Ansari added that according to a Supreme Court ruling, a child cannot be declared free for adoption before birth or within three months of its birth. However, in this case, Van Dijck was declared free from adoption in a month after her birth on August 30, 1975.

Justice BH Marlapalle and justice Anoop Mohta have directed the registry to contact Shraddhashram Mahilasharm for the adoption records and adjourned the case till August 13.

Organizations: ACT CASE DAKSHA, ACT IN THE NEWS

Spanish couple will adopt kid abandoned by mother

Home » Metros » Delhi

Spanish couple will adopt kid abandoned by mother

Aug 10th, 2010 - SUCHITRA KALYAN MOHANTY |

The future was dark for five-year-old girl Bipasha when she was abandoned by her unwed mother, but it seems that there was a ray of hope for her, as a Spanish couple has recently approached the Missionaries of Charity for her adoption and filed a case of adoption in a Delhi court.

After hearing the plea, district judge (DJ) Gyan Prakash Mittal allowed the plea of the Spanish couple — Jordi Miralles Gomez and his wife — seeking Bipasha’s custody.
The DJ also directed the couple to furnish a surety of Rs 5 lakh for Bipasha’s adoption. Bipasha, who was born on January 21, 2005, was allegedly abandoned by her single mother at the Missionaries of Charity at Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Seeking adoption of Bipasha, the Spanish couple pleaded before the court that since they had a son out of their marriage in 2004, but now, they wanted a girl.
The couple further told the court that they cannot have another child due to medical reasons.
The couple’s petition said, “Being very fond of children and having a desire to give home and shelter to a destitute child, we are keen and desirous of being appointed as guardians of a minor female child.”
The couple also submitted their passports, marriage certificate, sterility and health certificates, police clearance certificates, financial statements, employment, income certificates and property certificates to claim the adoption.
The child was declared legally free for adoption by the Child Welfare Committee, Kanpur, in 2009.
“For appointment of the guardian, the paramount consideration is the welfare of the minor,” the court observed while granting custody of Bipasha to the couple.
Taking into consideration that the gross annual income of the petitioners was Euro 1,29,000 (approximately Rs 80 lakh), the court said, “I am of the firm opinion that they were capable of maintaining themselves, their biological son and the female child

Organizations: Missionarie della Carita (Missionaries of Charity Sisters)

Countries: Spain, India

Court registry traces Dutch adoption

Court registry traces Dutch adoption
TNN, Aug 10, 2010, 06.13am IST
Article
Comments
Tags:daksha van dijck|bombay hc
MUMBAI: The 35-year-old record of the inter-country adoption of Daksha Van Dijck, which theBombay HC had directed its registry to trace, turned out to be four-five hand-written lines in the registry's record.

Van Dijck, now a psychologist, was adopted in 1975 by a Dutch national. She came back to India in 2001 in search of her biological parents. The court directed the registry to contact the Shraddhashram Mahilasharm for the adoption records and adjourned the case till August 13.

Organizations: ACT CASE DAKSHA

US tops list of adoptions from India

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US tops list of adoptions from India
New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS):
At least 3,976 Indian children were placed for inter-country adoption through the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) with the highest 1,500 placed in the US between 2005-2009, the Rajya Sabha was informed Monday.

Of the 3,976 children adopted in foreign countries, the highest - 1,500 - were placed in the US, followed by 679 in Italy and 320 in Spain. CARA monitors the welfare of children placed for inter-country adoption through post-adoption follow-up reports received from enlisted foreign agencies which are accredited to the government of the receiving country, said Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath. CARA has laid down guidelines for regulating inter-country adoption. These are based on the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption 1993, ratified by India in 2003, as well as the directions of the Supreme Court.

Countries: United States of America, India, Italy, Spain