preet mandir; Chargesheet accuses trustees, CARA official of connivance

By Ishfaq Naseem, 09/03/2011

 
Unwed women made to deliver babies for foreign adoptions: CBI

preet mandir; Chargesheet accuses trustees, CARA official of connivance

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in a chargesheet filed before Special Judge S N Sardesai on Tuesday, accused adoption agency Preet Mandir of making unwed women deliver children for adoptions by foreign nationals at huge sums of money. The agency also blamed former managing trustee Joginder Singh Bhasin, Central Adoption Research Agency (CARA) former chairman Jainendra Kumar Mittal and four other people, including trustees of the agency, of official connivance in faking rejection slips from Indian parents to make way for foreign adoptions.

The chargesheet said the agency had booked a suite for Mittal at Hotel Aurora Towers when he came on an official inspection of adoption agencies in 2007 besides footing the bill for his stay. It said the agency had also bargained for a discount on the Rs 11,000-room tariff when he came along with CARA deputy director B K Sahu and accounts officer Sushil Kumar Gupta. Of the total bill of Rs 16,361 between June 7 and June 9, 2007, Preet Mandir had paid Rs 5,361 while the rest was paid by Mittal. The official had, meanwhile, taken a travelling allowance advance from the agency for the tour.

It said Mittal had also, during his stay at Hotel Royal Inn, Mumbai, in 2010, received a packet of Rs 50,000 from one Pramod Magar, social worker at Preet Mandir, deputed by Bhasin to deliver the money. The CBI said Mittal had received the delivery through one of the hotel staffers.

The chargesheet said Preet Mandir, which had opened a unit ? Sai Dham at Tal Maval ? for training and rehabilitation of unwed women, used to make them deliver babies who were later raised at another of its unit for adoptions. The unit was, however, admitting pregnant women only. It executed 69 surrender deeds with unwed women and their children were admitted to Unit I and II of Preet Mandir. The chargesheet also said the unit was used only for procurement of children and the women were made to deliver babies at private hospitals like KEM Hospital and Ashiwbad Hospital at Talegaon.

The trustees have been accused of violating guidelines by procuring false rejection slips from Indian parents in violation of the provision that only those children who can't be sent for in-country adoption can be given for inter-country adoption. Some Indian parents had denied signing on such slips during investigation. Former managing trustee Bhasin has been accused of being actively involved in the practice besides using the trust money for his personal benefits.

The CBI has also accused the trust of kidnapping some boys and colluding with an official of Navrange Balak Ashram, Pandharpur, to convince the poor to send their children to the agency and later deny the parents custody of their children. It said many foreign adoptive parents were made to donate up to $10,000 instead of the CARA-stipulated adoption fee of $3500.

An official of Preet Mandir said Bhasin has resigned as managing trustee after the CBI case and the agency did not do any inter-country adoptions now.

IndianExpress