Kendrapada: A court in Jagatsinghpur district sentenced a woman and her adopted brother to life imprisonment on Saturday for murdering their mother in 2021, who had opposed their illicit relationship.

Mani Kandi (33) and Rajesh Kandi (29) were found guilty of strangling their mother, Urmila Kandi, to death in Bandar village. District and sessions judge Srinibash Pratihari also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each on the convicts, with an additional three-month sentence if they fail to pay.

According to the prosecution, Urmila had adopted Rajesh, her sister's son, following her husband's death. Mani, who was deserted by her husband, had returned to live with her mother. The duo developed a relationship, which Urmila strongly opposed, leading to frequent arguments.

On the night of June 22, 2021, during a heated argument, the convicts strangled Urmila and attempted to bury her body near their house. Villagers caught them in the act and informed police.

Public prosecutor Bhajahari Kar said the conviction was based on testimonies from 23 witnesses, postmortem reports, and other evidence. The court found both accused guilty under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention).

South Korean adoption system systematically violated human rights: 'Children were made adoptable'

A new week, a new generation of the Goed Ingelichte Kring . Adoption is often seen as a noble act: a chance for orphaned children to find a loving home. Yet international adoption brings with it a complex and painful story. A truth commission from South Korea has now determined that the country systematically violated human rights. Host Sam Hagens spoke about it with radio host Mischa Blok and Alice Flikweert of the foundation Netherlands Korean Rights Group. Both were adopted from South Korea.

Fraud exposed

After a lengthy and in-depth investigation, a South Korean truth commission has found that the country committed decades of systematic human rights violations in intercountry adoptions. The investigation, which lasted two years and seven months, focused on adoptions to 11 Western countries and included a detailed analysis of 367 files. It covers the period from 1954 to 1999, a time when South Korea sent large numbers of children to the West.

"You read in black and white that fraud was committed on a large scale, and that children were made adoptable. That is a term that you actually loathe," says Mischa. Many files were falsified so that adoptees could no longer find their parents. "Instead of putting the name of the father and mother in it, they noted that you were foundling. Taking that away from a child - the basic information that you are entitled to, such as who your parents are and where you come from - is of course terrible."

CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar rural police on Thursday arrested a couple on the charges of murdering a four-year-old girl they had allegedly adopted without going through the due process and by paying Rs 5,000 to her biological parents in Jalna district six months ago.

Police said the arrested couple Faheem Shaikh (35) and wife Fauziya (27) were originally from Ajanta and currently residing in the Moghulpura area of Sillod tehsil in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. A local court on Friday sent the couple to two days of police custody.'

‘Purchased’ child died of infections after assault: Cops
Lawyers in Sillod abstained from representing the couple in the court following a resolution in protest against the excesses committed on the girl, identified as Ayat Shaikh. In the FIR registered with the Sillod city police station, the accused were booked and arrested for murder and under relevant sections of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Superintendent of police Vinaykumar Rathod said: "The autopsy report stated that the child died because of the infections caused by the injuries she had suffered in the alleged assault by the couple. The couple said they had paid Rs 5,000 to her biological parents to adopt the child. Buying or selling a child is an act of crime. We will investigate these violations as well."

An officer said the accused claimed to have a bond paper that stated the "willingness" of the child's biological parents to give their daughter for adoption to Shaikh and Fauziya. He said: "During questioning, Fauziya admitted to have assaulted the child, but said she was unaware that the action would lead to her death."

The officer said: "As the couple were trying to perform the child's last rites, some local residents alerted the police. Following this, the girl was taken to a sub-district hospital, where doctors declared her dead. The child's burial was performed in the presence of her biological parents."

In 2006, United States pop-star Madonna adopted David Banda from Home of Hope Orphanage in Mchinji District.

This was the same year the “Queen of Pop”, as she is fondly referred to, together with Michael Berg, co-founded her charity called Raising Malawi.

Banda was placed in the orphanage as his father, Yohane, was failing to provide for him and his mother had, unfortunately, died soon after giving birth to him.

Madonna, who at the time was in Malawi with his then-husband Guy Ritchie on a humanitarian trip, found David at the orphanage, then battling with malaria and pneumonia.

David was only 14 months old by then. But adopting David was a struggle for Madonna.

The incident occurred in Mogalpura area in Sillod city on Wednesday afternoon. The police have arrested the cruel couple identified as Fauzia Faheem Shaikh (27, Mogalpura, Sillod) and Shaikh Faheem (35). The deceased girl has been identified as Aayat Faheem Shaikh (4).

A couple purchased a four-year-old girl for Rs 5,000 as they had four sons. However, they killed the girl by severely beating her, breaking her limbs and branding her with hot rod.

The incident occurred in Mogalpura area in Sillod city on Wednesday afternoon. The police have arrested the cruel couple identified as Fauzia Faheem Shaikh (27, Mogalpura, Sillod) and Shaikh Faheem (35). The deceased girl has been identified as Aayat Faheem Shaikh (4).

Faheem and Fauzia are native of Ajanta and were presently living in Mogalpura in Sillod city. They had four sons and wanted a daughter. Hence, they purchased Aayat for Rs 5,000 from Shaikh Naseem Abdul Qayyum, a resident of Jalna around six months back. The transaction was noted on an affidavit. Faheem is a labourer and he came to Mogalpura with his family around fifteen days back. However, Fauzia did not like the adoption of Aayat and she used to quarrel with Faheem over it frequently.

Tip off by unidentified person

A couple has been arrested on charges of murdering a minor girl, who reportedly was 'adopted' by them from her biological father.

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:Police on Thursday arrested a couple from Maharashtra's Sillod on charges of murdering their four-year-old adoptive daughter. It is being suspected that the victim, Aayat Fahim Sheikh, died after being beaten and struck on the head with some heavy object.

While the motive behind the alleged murder is yet to be ascertained, the legal status of adoption has come under scrutiny now as accused claimed the girl was bought through a middleman.

As per reports, one Sheikh Fahim Sheikh Ayyub and his wife Fauzia Sheikh Fahim have been arrested by police in connection with the case. Police are also verifying the legality of the victim's adoption, as the accused claimed she was bought for Rs 5000.

Police sources said, the accused couple staying in Sillod already had four children but they wanted a daughter, which is why they adopted Aayat from her biological father Sheikh Naseem Abdul Qayyum of Jalna six months back. However, the accused have now revealed that the girl was bought from Sheikh Naseem through a middleman from Jafrabad, claiming that they have the written documents confirming the transaction.

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A couple from Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district has been arrested for allegedly killing their “adopted” 4-year-old daughter, an official said on Friday. 

Sillod residents and accused Fauzia Shaikh (27) and her husband Faheem Shaikh (35) also tried to hush up the alleged crime by attempting to carry out the child’s final rites hastily, he said. 

The couple has told the police that they had adopted the child, Aayat, six months ago. 

The kid was taken to the sub-district hospital around 3 am on Wednesday, but doctors declared her dead.
However, someone from their locality tipped the police that the child did not die of any natural causes, like an illness or some health condition, the ofcial said. 

Police moved swiftly and stopped Fauzia and Faheem from burying Aayat’s body, which was sent for post-mortem. 

Adoptees in Australia are calling for an inquiry and formal apology following allegations South Korea committed mass human rights abuses in its inter-country adoption program.

Pippa McPherson says when she gave birth to her son she started to search for answers about her birth family. Source: Supplied

Pippa McPherson came to Australia as a four-month-old in 1986, to live with her adopted family in Melbourne.

 

She's still never spoken to her birth family in South Korea and believes the adoption paperwork she has is false, so she's never been sure of where she really came from, or if she has siblings.

 

Korea and Norway agreed Thursday to cooperate on investigations into intercountry adoption irregularities and support the rights of affected adoptees, as both nations conduct separate probes into past adoption practices.

Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Chairperson Park Sun-young met with Camilla Bernt, head of the Norwegian Investigation Committee on Intercountry Adoption, in Seoul, where the two sides agreed to share their respective investigative findings.

Their meeting took place a day after the TRC announced the initial findings of its yearslong probe into adoption misconduct from the 1960s to 1990s, which unearthed the Korean government's mistakes and oversights in the process.

The investigation found that inadequate government supervision and administrative failures led to widespread misconduct, falsified documents and corrupt practices.

"Korea is the country from which there has been the highest number of adoptions to Norway, totaling more than 6,500 children. For the Norwegian committee, TRC’s investigation is therefore highly relevant. The report will be an important source for our investigation and evaluation," Bernt told The Korea Times in an email.

The Minister of Social Affairs will have detailed how an expanded investigation will be financed.

After previously refusing to expand an investigation into the area of ​​adoption, Minister of Social Affairs Sophie Hæstorp Andersen (S) will now enter into dialogue with the opposition.

She does this after the opposition gathered a domestic political majority on Thursday for an expanded investigation , which is not only a historical investigation, but also a legal assessment.

- Now I have heard the desire from the opposition parties to expand the investigation, and I look forward to getting more details on exactly what they agree on and how they envision it being financed, says Sophie Hæstorp Andersen.

Question: So you won't rule out expanding it?