Mystery deepens as child adopted illegally dies

WARANGAL: The death on Saturday of a six-month-old infant allegedly adopted illegally by a couple from the USA in Hanamkonda has raised several questions.

Kareem Veerani, originally a resident of Kompally in Medchal district near Hyderabad, had married an American citizen Ashama. Since the couple did not have any children they decided to adopt a child. For this purpose, they approached Kareem’s sister Rasheeda Bano, a resident of Warangal City.

Rasheeda got in touch with her friend Rani, who works at a private hospital in Kompally. On the suggestion by Rani, Kareem and Ashama rented a house in Kompally six months ago and started living there.

Rani, along with another hospital staff member Krishnaveni, got a six-month-old male child and gave him to Kareem and Ashama for adoption under Inter-Country Adoption. Kareem also applied to State Adoption Resource Authority (SARA) for adopting the child.

When Kareem and Ashama were taking the child along with them to America two days ago, immigration officials objected saying the couple does not have the No Objection Certificate (NOC) issued by Foreign Adoption Agency (FAA). Immigration authorities also lodged a complaint with the police and child welfare department of Warangal district.

Mattewada Circle inspector N. Venkateshwarlu told Deccan Chronicle that as per records, the couple had adopted the child from Kareem’s sister Rasheeda Bano. But Rasheeda has two sons aged 10 years and eight years. She has not delivered any child in the past year.

Following this, police registered a case against the American couple Kareem and Ashama Veerani, and Rasheeda Bano, and arrested them for adopting the child illegally. Police formed a special team to nab Rasheeda’s friends Rani and Krishnaveni of Kompally to know about the biological parents of the infant boy, whom the police handed over to the Shishu Vihar orphanage.

However, the boy developed vomiting and loose motions. A child specialist Naveen conducted tests on the infant and gave him medicines. But when the child’s health became worse, they shifted him to the Government Maternity Hospital. Doctors at the hospital who checked the infant pronounced that the boy had already died. The doctors then referred the child to MGM Hospital with a certificate "No signs of life."

Doctors at MGM Hospital conducted paediatric tests on the child and took ECG. They found no symptoms of a heartbeat. They informed the police and shifted the boy’s body for post-mortem.

Speaking to DC, MGM Hospital superintendent V. Chandrasekhar said the child had been brought to the hospital dead. When they checked the boy’s medical reports submitted by the couple who adopted the child, they realised that the infant had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Hyderabad for congenital lactose intolerance (allergy to cow or buffalo milk). The MGM superintendent said because of dehydration and aspiration issues, the child had suffered from vomiting and loose motions and died.