Aici a crescut noua Nicoleta Luciu!

Adina Barbu s-a n?scut Adina Vasilica Ciuciu ?i a crescut într-un bloc de nefamili?ti din Craiter. La 17 ani, a n?scut un copil la Maternitatea Bra?ov pe care l-a abandonat

Una din cele mai mediatizate vedete monden? la ora actual? este fotomodelul Adina Barbu, în vârst? de 28 de ani. Comparat? cu Nicoleta Luciu pentru bustul generos tunat cu silicon, Adina Barbu are un trecut pe care dore?te s?-l ascund? cu orice pre?. Adina Barbu s-a n?scut Adina Vasilica Ciuciu ?i a locuit într-un bloc de nefamili?ti de lâng? depoul CFR, în Craiter, la marginea Bra?ovului. Tat?l s?u lucra la Tunele SA ?i a primit locuin?a de serviciu în acest bloc. Noua vedet? mai are dou? surori - Luciana, mezina, respectiv Claudia, cea mai mare. Familia ei s-a mutat în urm? cu 8 ani. Lucica, mama ei, s-a mutat prin p?r?ile Moldovei, spun vecinii, iar tat?l ei a murit anul acesta.

Vecinii î?i mai amintesc înc? de ea
„Da, a devenit mare vedet?. ?i-a pus silicoane c? na, dac? faci bani u?or... O ?in bine minte, dar nu am fost în rela?ii bune cu ea. Adic? n-am avut nimic cu ea, dar nu mi-a pl?cut niciodat? c? familia ei nu-?i pl?tea între?inerea. Nu c? nu aveau bani, c? erau to?i îngriji?i ?i bine îmbr?ca?i - dar de ce s? pl?teasc?, ca noi, fraierii?”, ne spune locatara de la apartamentul 20. Al?i locatari mai tineri î?i amintesc ?i de prietenul ei. „Era frumoas? înc? de mic?, eu a?a ?in minte. Îl ?tiu ?i pe prietenul ei, Bebe îi spune porecla. St?tea peste linii”, ne spune un alt locatar.
Vecinii spun c? fata a f?cut generala la ?coala 17, dar de liceu nu-?i mai amintesc nimic. Se pare c? nu l-a urmat, dar nu este sigur.

A locuit ?i la prietenul ei
„Peste linii”, pe strada Fanionului, locuie?te Silviu Baga, prietenul ei din adolescen??. Nu l-am g?sit acas?, dar vecinii î?i mai amintesc de Adina „Luciu” Ciuciu. „Am v?zut-o la televizor, ea e. Dar pe aici n-a mai trecut de mult timp. A avut o vreme ?i muta?ie aici. ?tiu c? o c?uta la un moment dat Poli?ia. A fost cu Silviu mult timp, apoi a plecat prin str?in?tate. Cred c? chiar Silviu s-a dus cu ea la Bucure?ti, s?-i fac? actele”, ne spune vecina de vizavi a lui Silviu Baga. Femeia a fost tras? în cas? de fiica ei. „Hai mam? odat? ?i ?ine?i gura, c? nu vezi c? pe Silviu l-a amenin?at. Vrei s? o p??e?ti ?i tu?”.

N?scut în `99, adoptat dup? 6 luni
În urm? cu pu?in timp, prietenul din adolescen?? al vedetei, Silviu Baga, „invitat” telefonic într-o sear? la emisiunea „Un show p?c?tos” de pe Antena 1, spunea despre vedeta Adina Barbu c? ?i-a abandonat copilul pe când avea 17 ani. Prezentatoare meteo în CanCan, ea a avut o rela?ie îndelungat? cu Silviu Baga, în urma c?reia a ap?rut pe lume un b?ie?el nedorit. Silviu Adrian Ciuciu a fost n?scut pe 1 septembrie 1999, în Maternitatea din Bra?ov. B?ie?elul a ap?rut dintr-o gre?eal? ?i, gândindu-se probabil c?-?i distruge viitorul, Adina Vasilica Ciuciu l-a p?r?sit în maternitate. Legisla?ia din domeniul Protec?iei Copilului din acea vreme era mai permisiv? decât actuala. Dac? copilul nu era vizitat timp de 6 luni de mam?, el intra automat în procedur? de adop?ie, iar mama era dec?zut? din drepturi. A?a s-a întâmplat ?i cu micu?ul Silviu Adrian. „Silviu Adrian Ciuciu, n?scut în septembrie 1999, a fost adoptat în 2000 prin intermediul unei funda?ii specializate. Copilul nu a fost niciodat? în sistemul de protec?ie al DGASPC Bra?ov, el fiind crescut pân? la momentul adop?iei de un asistent maternal pl?tit de asocia?ia respectiv?”, a declarat Radu Mailat, pân? ieri purt?torul de cuvânt al Direc?iei Generale de Asisten?? Social? ?i Protec?ia Copilului (DGASPC) Bra?ov.

Adop?ia, semnat? de un secretar de stat
Actele de adop?ie au fost realizate de Comitetul Român pentru Adop?ii, care a repartizat procesul de g?sire a p?rin?ilor Asocia?iei Catharsis, prin reparti?ia nr. 2747/10.02 2000. Asocia?ia bra?ovean? l-a crescut pe copil în centrul de tip familial privat, pân? când a g?sit o mam? adoptiv? - pe arhitecta greac? A.K. Din surse sigure am aflat c? acesta arhitect? este fiica unui mare general mobilizat în Italia. În unele ??ri, precum Grecia, legisla?ia permitea ca un singur p?rinte s? fie suficient pentru adop?ii, astfel c? femeia a aplicat singur? pentru aceast? adop?ie. Ea a intrat în posesia copilului prin decizia 886 din 16 martie 2000, semnat? de secretarul de stat de la acea vreme Alexandru Popescu.

„Cadou” de ziua ei
Adina Barbu Ciuciu s-a aniversat miercuri, zi în care a primit ?i vestea c? secretul ei a devenit public. În ciuda descoperirii documentelor purtând sigla oficial? a Oficiului Român pentru Adop?ii, Adina Barbu neag? cu vehemen?? c? ar fi n?scut sau abandonat vreodat? un copil. „Sunt ni?te abera?ii ?i doresc s?-l dau în judecat? pe jurnalistul sau jurnalista care a scris a?a ceva”, a declarat Adina Barbu, fost? Ciuciu, miercuri sear? în emisiunea „Un show p?c?tos”.

Persons: Adina Barbu aka Adina Vasilica Ciuciu, Azota Popescu

Organizations: Catharsis

Global Corruption in the Global Village

By James R. Marsh on February 28, 2008 7:20 PM | 5 Comments

The Joint Council on International Children's Services [JCICS] has a worldwide reach into some of the darkest corners of the child trafficking industry. Apparently so does Masha Allen's not-really adoption agency unless you believe Debbie Spivack, Families thru International Adoption [FTIA].

A concerned reader of this blog recently forwarded a large number of emails purportedly from FTIA's [CENSORED] Senior Coordinator [CENSORED].

In these emails from 2006, [CENSORED] details her close relationship with longtime JCICS past-president and board member Deb Murphy-Scheumann.

In a message which begins "How did I get myself into this mess?" [CENSORED] outlines her wide-ranging interaction with what she calls "the Indian mafia" network and their control of orphanages in India.

When asked if "they" are "going down for their crimes" of child trafficking, [CENSORED] responds:

"Usually no....and if so, not for long. They are far too powerful and usually able to pay their way out of jail and then they are back at business. They are also connected with some really powerful people in govt and business. And I can't even begin to tell you the truly disgusting things they are involved in......that's another chapter in itself...."

Discussing her connections to JS Bhasin, director of a rogue Indian adoption agency, [CENSORED] remarks:

"I've made light of it all these years but to truly realize that my instincts/intuitions were accurate and that I was THAT close to them, to their evil.....how involved I became, and and how significant they really are.....is scary."

But alas, international adoption must go on albeit at any cost. [CENSORED] continues:

There was one very high-powered business man in Pune that was a true humanitarian and was working with one orphanage in Pune and we met and were intending to work together. We met with him twice (this was a 1 1/2 yrs ago) and he was intending to visit us next time he was in the states (he traveled often). Before that had a chance to happen, my Indian Assistant Harshal called me a few months ago and told me that this guy was killed because he was trying to open an orphanage but would not join their network

[CENSORED] then relates a bizarre scenario in which Murphy-Scheumann was apparently poisoned by an orphanage director for knowing too much:

I briefed Deb on all of this so that when she traveled with me, she knew to be careful, but she is so not delicate and we were in a meeting with one of them (KP Sethy and I'll include the CNN article about him in the next email.) at his home in Delhi. I was very cautious as I suspected he was in the network, but we had been working with him for a year. I sat in the meetings and only talked about our work but would not get into any other topics but he continued to ask questions that had nothing to do with our work. I said nothing but Deb didn't get the subtle cues and started talking and there was no way I could shut her up.....I guess I hadn't quite impressed Deb, and she sat there chattering away, and then she mentioned she was director of JCICS in the US and they intended to go after these people.......I honestly thought I wasn't going to leave his house alive.....I could feel the sweat running down my sides as I was watching this guys expression as he was taking in information....

I KNOW.....this sounds like a crime novel!

So, we had to catch our flight back to the US but KP asked if he could offer us something to drink before we departed, and I just had this feeling that I should not.....so I politely refused and he would not let up, and Deb eventually accepted.....hmmmm....and after that trip she was hospitalized and her health gone down ever since and still today Dr's can not figure out what to do for her. All they know is that she somehow contracted something in India that is slowly destroying her lungs & immune system...she is either in bed at home, or in the hospital on a ventilator....

Poor poisoned Deb. And poor crusading [CENSORED]. But international adoption does come at a price and the child-saving must go on:

When I told [CENSORED] a few days ago, he asked if I was ready to admit that Deb was ill because these guys don't mess around and asked when I was going to change jobs....

In some ways I wish I would have taken that [Rogues?] Gallery job.......on the other hand......I feel like I can't just turn away at this point either.....

[CENSORED] closes her missive with this observation:

In the end, what pisses me off.....and the reason I can't seem to let it go.....is that the baby-buying is all SO un-necessary. The tragedy is that India has far too many orphans.....but these people realized early on that fair-skinned newborns are a very lucrative commodity....and they know how to get their hands on them.....depraved......

The next day, [CENSORED] provides this shocking update:

http://www.ibnlive.com/features/babysnatchers/index.php

I feel rather numb.....If you either read the first article and/or look at the first video, you'll see mention of Joginder Kaur....she worked with us for years.....we gave over $150K to their organization (which I now suspect went into their own pockets....we're talking serious dollar value in India!!!) Anyway, I spent countless days in India with her, and 3-4 days at their rural orphanage/birthmother home and she visited us in the US twice (we organized walk-a-thons, ect...)

Coming soon, details about FTIA's relationship with Ellie Skeele and the Nepalese orphanage Community Child Rescue Centre! Until then, keep the emails coming folks.

P.S. Deb, [CENSORED], since I know you are reading this please fill us in on "the truly disgusting things they are involved in" lest our readers let their ever vivid imaginations run wild . . .

Persons: Debbie Spivack, Deb Murphy-Scheumann, Joginder Kaur, KP Sethy, Beth Peterson aka Beth Peterson Krueger, Sardar Joginder Singh Bhasin

Pressuring countries on adoption 'can lead to trafficking'

By Louise Hogan

Tuesday November 02 2010

Putting pressure on countries to sign up to adoption agreements could potentially lead to child trafficking, a childcare expert warned yesterday.

Geoffrey Shannon, the chairman of the new Adoption Authority of Ireland, yesterday stressed that it was "hugely important" to avoid any links between humanitarian aid agreements and payments in the adoption of children from other regions.

The first major overhaul since adoptions began in Ireland in 1953 saw the appointment yesterday of the new seven-member board and the long-awaited ratification of the Hague Convention.

Irish citizens can now adopt from more than 80 other countries -- many of which are also recipient countries with few children for adoption -- who have signed up to the convention which safeguards the rights of children being adopted.

But this does not include the two countries -- Vietnam and Russia -- from which the largest number of adopted children in Ireland come. In 2008, 117 children were adopted here from Russia and 182 from Vietnam.

Minister for Children Barry Andrews pointed out Vietnam was believed to be close to ratifying the Hague Convention and he said he was willing to travel to Moscow to lobby for a bilateral adoption agreement.

Quicker

"The legislation also permits the assessment to be done by accredited bodies other than the HSE which will mean hopefully the assessment process will be much quicker," Mr Andrews said.

Shane Downer, chief executive of Arc Adoption, said it will be seeking to become accredited to provide "transparent facilitation services" with countries such as Bulgaria, Vietnam and Cambodia.

The entire adoption system has changed radically from when it was first brought into place in 1953, Mr Shannon said.

Between 1960 and 1972 a total of 3,578 Irish children, mainly born outside of marriage, were placed for adoption. Last year, there were just 67 children placed for adoption within Ireland.

Mr Shannon stressed the importance of a "clear demarcation line" between humanitarian aid and adoptions.

"Putting pressure on jurisdictions to enter into agreement is actually contrary to the spirit of Hague," the special rapporteur on child protection said.

"What we should not forget is that where we put pressure on jurisdictions to enter into agreements that has the potential to lead to child trafficking."

- Louise Hogan

Irish Independent

Countries: Bulgaria, Ireland, Russia, Cambodia, Vietnam

Persons: Shane Downer

Organizations: Adoption ARC

Preet Mandir adoptions: NGOs forward objections to CARA

Fifteen days after the Bombay High Court passed an order directing Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) to process the adoption applications of 18 children in Preet Mandir, voluntary organisations Sakhi and Advait Foundation have forwarded their objections to CARA.

Representatives of these organisations said documentation of each case should be investigated individually to check whether the consent for adoption is obtained from real biological parents or are forged signatures or their signatures are taken by coercion or deceit.

Organizations: Preet Mandir, ACT CASE Preet Mandir

Countries: India

Manya Ogale Fla Ponzi schemer

Home/Charles Ponzi and Modern Day Ponzi Schemes/Ponzi Schemes Reported in 2009/Manya Ogale Fla Ponzi schemer

Defendant Defrauded Investors of More Than $23 Million in Less Than 5 Years ATLANTA, March 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Manyu Ogale, 44, of Jacksonville, Fla., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story to 10 years in prison on a federal charge of mail fraud arising out of a so-called "Ponzi" scheme that defrauded investors out of more than $23 million, announced David E. Nahmias, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. Nahmias said of the case, "We continue to uncover a distressing number of multi-million dollar Ponzi schemes. In this case, the con-man raised more than $23 million from his victims in less than five years by posing as a legitimate investment advisor who guaranteed 50% annual returns through a complex foreign-currency hedge fund. These fraudulent investment schemes come in many guises but seem to have one thing in common - the 'guaranteed' returns sound too good to be true. Anyone offered such returns should invest their hard-earned money with great caution." FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Greg Jones said, "This investigation serves as a warning to those who devise schemes to defraud and steal money from hard-working citizens under the false pretense of legitimate investments. It should also serve to warn the American public to be vigilant and to do their homework before investing money with anyone. Investment fraud is a high priority for the FBI, but many of these cases can be prevented if people would simply ask some hard questions before handing their money over to these thieves." In addition to the 10-year prison term, Ogale was sentenced to three years of supervised release following his incarceration, and was ordered to pay $12,744,349.50 in restitution. Ogale pleaded guilty to the charge on Dec. 18, 2008. According to Nahmias and information presented in court: from January 2003 through May 2007, Ogale owned and operated "Den Haag Capital, LLC," which he represented to be "a private hedge fund" for "sophisticated investors." Ogale falsely represented to investors that he had created an algorithm that allowed him to determine whether various foreign currencies were undervalued or overvalued, and he promised to invest his clients' money in the foreign currency markets using the algorithm that he had created. Ogale guaranteed investors an annual rate of return of 50%. In less than five years, Ogale took in over $23 million from investors. Ogale sent monthly statements to investors, falsely claiming that their investments had substantially increased in value, and Ogale used some of the money that he received from later investors to pay substantial returns to some of the early investors. Ogale never invested any of the money, however, and instead used much of it to pay his own personal expenses in an effort to create an aura of legitimacy for himself. As part of those expenses, he leased and traveled by private jets and leased a luxury Mercedes automobile, as well as paid American Express bills totaling over $1 million. This case was investigated by Special Agents of the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Phillips prosecuted the case. SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

Persons: Manyu Ogale

New Adoption Authority appointed

irishtimes.com - Last Updated: Monday, November 1, 2010, 16:58

New Adoption Authority appointed

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Barry Andrews: said new authority will ensure high standards in adoption process

The establishment of a new Adoption Authority from today is a key element of a “complete overhaul” of the adoption process in Ireland, Minister for Children Barry Andrews has said.

Mr Andrews was marking the enactment of the Adoption Act 2010 and the appointment of the new authority.

“The establishment of the Adoption Authority will be central to the administration of adoption, domestic and intercountry, for many years to come,” he said.

He said the new authority was charged with “ensuring high standards, setting guidelines for the HSE and other bodies and regulating and monitoring all adoption activities”.

“The central focus of all of this work will be the best interests of the children, both Irish born and children adopted from abroad.”

The new law is designed to give force of law to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption.

Mr Andrews said the new law was designed to provide a framework to ensure that appropriate procedures have been followed and that all adoptions were effected in the best interests of the child.

Membership of the ‘Hague Club’ was intended to improve standards in intercountry adoption and allow for adoptions between countries that were compliant with the convention.

“However, the desire to further improve standards should not end with Hague ratification,” Mr Andrews said.

Solicitor and senior lecturer in family and child law Geoffrey Shannon has been appointed to chair the new authority.

Mr Andrews paid tribute to the work and cooperation of the HSE in preparing for the new legislative framework.

HSE assistant national director Phil Garland said: “As the statutory childcare authority the HSE welcomes the commitment under the Hague convention to strengthening the focus on placing the child at the centre of the adoption process in Ireland.

Chief executive of Arc Adoption, Shane Downer, said the commencement of the new Act was a “red letter day” for all those involved in adoption.

“Arc Adoption, subject to the approval of the new Authority, looks forward to helping establish the improved infrastructure enabled by this Act, which will improve adoption processes on behalf of children, as well as providing enhanced assurance over what is a complex, legal and fundamentally human activity.”

Mr Downer said adoption placements must be “child centred, and focused on helping prospective adoptive parents prepare for, and cope with welcoming a child into their lives and families”.

His own organisation would seek to complete accreditation as Ireland’s first accredited adoption mediation agency over the coming weeks. It aims to establish programmes with “at least four countries”.

Subject to the approval of the authority, the organisation will initially apply to work with countries such as Bulgaria, Vietnam, Mexico, India, Brazil, Kenya and Cambodia, among others.

“Arc will introduce a comprehensively transparent facilitation service, and looks forward to being subject to tight regulation by the Adoption Authority of Ireland,” Mr Downer said.

Over 42,000 adoptions of Irish children have taken place, and a further 5,000 children have been adopted into Ireland, Arc said.

During the introductory phase of the Adoption Act 2010, members of the public who have any queries about adoption both, from a domestic and an inter-country perspective, should contact their local HSE social work department.

Organizations: Adoption ARC

Persons: Shane Downer

Countries: Ireland

Press Release: Sentence Ogale

Department of Justice Press Release


For Immediate Release March 31, 2009	United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Georgia Contact: (478) 752-3511
Jacksonville Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Operating Ponzi Scheme under the Guise of a Foreign Currency “Hedge Fund” Defendant Defrauded Investors of more than $23 Million in less than Five Years ATLANTA—Manyu Ogale, 44, of Jacksonville, Florida, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story to 10 years in prison on a federal charge of mail fraud arising out of a so-called “Ponzi” scheme that defrauded investors out of more than $23 million, announced David E. Nahmias, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. Nahmias said of the case, “We continue to uncover a distressing number of multi-million dollar Ponzi schemes. In this case, the con-man raised more than $23 million from his victims in less than five years by posing as a legitimate investment advisor who guaranteed 50% annual returns through a complex foreign-currency hedge fund. These fraudulent investment schemes come in many guises but seem to have one thing in common - the ‘guaranteed’ returns sound too good to be true. Anyone offered such returns should invest their hard-earned money with great caution.” FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Greg Jones said, “This investigation serves as a warning to those who devise schemes to defraud and steal money from hard-working citizens under the false pretense of legitimate investments. It should also serve to warn the American public to be vigilant and to do their homework before investing money with anyone. Investment fraud is a high priority for the FBI, but many of these cases can be prevented if people would simply ask some hard questions before handing their money over to these thieves.” In addition to the 10-year prison term, Ogale was sentenced to three years of supervised release following his incarceration, and was ordered to pay $12,744,349.50 in restitution. Ogale pleaded guilty to the charge on Dec. 18, 2008. According to Nahmias and information presented in court: from January 2003 through May 2007, Ogale owned and operated “Den Haag Capital, LLC,” which he represented to be “a private hedge fund” for “sophisticated investors.” Ogale falsely represented to investors that he had created an algorithm that allowed him to determine whether various foreign currencies were undervalued or overvalued, and he promised to invest his clients’ money in the foreign currency markets using the algorithm that he had created. Ogale guaranteed investors an annual rate of return of 50%. In less than five years, Ogale took in over $23 million from investors. Ogale sent monthly statements to investors, falsely claiming that their investments had substantially increased in value, and Ogale used some of the money that he received from later investors to pay substantial returns to some of the early investors. Ogale never invested any of the money, however, and instead used much of it to pay his own personal expenses in an effort to create an aura of legitimacy for himself. As part of those expenses, he leased and traveled by private jets and leased a luxury Mercedes automobile, as well as paid American Express bills totaling over $1 million. This case was investigated by Special Agents of the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Phillips prosecuted the case.

Persons: Manyu Ogale

Hole that swallows babies - hjow kids are spirited away

Hole that swallows babies
-how kids are spirited away

CHANDREYEE GHOSE AND SANJOY CHATTOPADHYAYA

When a child is born roughly every two seconds, some babies of unfortunate mothers will leak out of the system and go on the market for adoption at a price.

Manwara Seth, of Canning, has filed a petition in Calcutta High Court claiming her child was stolen from a government hospital in South 24-Parganas and sold to a childless couple. The couple insisted that they had paid Seth’s family for the child, who is now seven.

Public prosecutor Asimesh Goswami said: “A DNA test has been ordered to decide who his future guardian will be.”

The Telegraph exposé in Saturday’s paper had revealed how a baby-selling network operates with the connivance of nursing homes, mostly in Calcutta’s suburbs, and doctors, audaciously turning an illegal transaction legal.

Government hospitals are as leaky. A health officer at one revealed that in two cases over the past four-five months, he had received information about abandoned babies but they were gone before he could take them to a children’s home.

On a third occasion, he was informed about a baby being abandoned, but when he went to get it, the baby was missing, only to reappear miraculously when he raised a hue and cry.

Unwanted babies can be made to elude the official network at many points. The first is where the baby is found or rescued. Under the rules, a rescued baby has to be presented before the state government’s Child Welfare Committee — there is one in each district —within 24 hours of its being found. Only this committee has the authority to issue a fit-for-adoption certificate for a baby.

Whether a child is produced or not depends on the intentions of the finder. With nursing homes and hospitals not being too particular about sticking to the law, the committee has no way of sniffing out who is spiriting away babies where.

Abandoned babies are rescued by Childline, an NGO that has the government’s support, and by police, and produced before the committee. Mothers who want to surrender their babies have to go directly before the committee. This is on paper.

The Calcutta committee recently asked a hospital for an explanation why a four-month-old baby was handed over directly to a couple.

“The couple had approached the court, arguing that since the child was ill and needed special care, they could not go to the committee first and delay the whole process,” said Amita Sen, the chairperson of the Calcutta committee.

In Calcutta, there may not be full compliance with the rule of taking the baby before the welfare committee, but the situation is better than in the districts. Indrani Sinha, a member of the South 24-Parganas committee, said: “Abandoned babies are rarely presented before the committee. One or two a month, maybe.”

They are handed directly to parents wishing to adopt and, since the process takes place outside official supervision, a range of unwanted results for the baby becomes possible.

Till last year, the committee’s existence went unheeded by the system though its pivotal role as the custodian of abandoned and surrendered babies was worked into law in 2006. Sen said: “Most agencies would not bring the babies before the committee.”

The acronym-laden layers of the adoption structure, a creation of government guidelines and Supreme Court directions, worked the way they felt best until 2009. Neither the Central Adoption Resource Agency, which is the mother body for adoption in the country, nor the Bengal social welfare department, its state-level representative, did anything beyond the odd half-hearted attempt to straighten out the system.

One example of their reluctance to act relates to an adoption monopoly that grew under a lawyer named Anil Bhuniya, who was allowed for two decades till 2009 to approve, scrutinise as well as, allegedly, hand babies over to adoptive parents. Bhuniya denied that he was ever involved in the last activity.

Apart from once writing a letter objecting to Bhuniya’s role in approval as well as scrutiny, the central agency did nothing. The social welfare ministry even helped Bhuniya establish control over the system.

The Telegraph sent a questionnaire to the central agency seeking to clear doubts about how the adoption system works and about overlapping laws, of which there are three. After sitting on it for two weeks and several reminders, it sent this helpful reply: “You have asked so many questions. Please see CARA (the agency)’s website… for more details.”

It did reveal, though, that a probe is under way against one of Bhuniya’s two organisations. It does not reveal that for years it — and the state social welfare department — had failed to set up in Bengal a second approval mechanism, known as the adoption co-ordinating agency, to smash Bhuniya’s hold.

In another example of inaction, the government, in Delhi in this case, has increased the dependence of adoption agencies on donations from adoptive parents. The agencies are supposed to receive substantial budgetary support from the Centre but are not getting it.

If the old system had a dark hole through which babies disappeared as they were handed directly to adoptive parents without official supervision, either with court registration of the adoption or without, the recast network with welfare committees in every district may not be working any better.

There are complaints that the committees act the same way as the older system did, handing over babies directly to adoptive parents, though this is the job of the adoption agencies that maintain a list of hopeful couples. The committees also put babies in temporary foster family care, instead of children’s homes or adoption agencies, till the fit-for-adoption certificate is issued.

An official of the Calcutta committee admitted placing abandoned babies in foster care. “A newborn needs a mother’s lap rather than a children’s home,” she said. At its best, this is the do-gooder guiding spirit — without regard for law or system or the future well-being of the child — in giving babies away for adoption.

A former social welfare official said on condition of anonymity that there were no records of how many children had been placed in foster care by the committees. Nor is there any knowledge if these children are later given away by the foster parents or kept by them.

If babies falling through the system without a clue is the most frightening feature, another is the lack of data beyond basic adoption figures. How many children are brought before each district committee, how many are abandoned, how many surrendered — the system is clueless.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101031/jsp/frontpage/story_13122021.jsp

Countries: India

Peculiar to state: two roles for one

The big daddy of Adoptions

Peculiar to state: two roles for one

Meet Anil Bhuniya, the father of adoptions in Bengal.

Till last year, when he lost a licence, Bhuniya was lord of most that he surveyed in the adoption world. The lawyer, who says his legal practice is his real work and adoption is social work, controlled two organisations with approval and inspection authority and, allegedly, ran two or more agencies that gave babies away for adoption.

His detractors called it all a one-stop adoption shop.

In the maze that is the adoption network, Bhuniya heads what is known as the adoption coordinating agency (ACA), the only one in Bengal, as its secretary. The ACA is a non-government organisation licensed by the Central Adoption Resource Agency .

Its job is to give clearance for adoption by foreigners.
This leaves the majority of adoption cases that happen within the country out of its purview. But they may require their paperwork to be cleared by a scrutiny agency . Bhuniya was, and still is, the secretary of the scrutiny agency, again the only one in the state.

Powers vested in him as secretary of the two organisations meant that till 2009, virtually no adoptions could take place without his having a hand in it. Through the ACA he had access to details of all the licensed agencies in the state, the number of couples on the waiting list and the number of babies available.

Rinchen Tempo, the principal secretary in the social welfare department, said: "Bhuniya was allowed to get away for so long as there was no alternative."

Bhuniya had generous help from the state. No other state has the same functionary operating an ACA and a scrutiny agency, which is one of the roles of the West Bengal Council for Child Welfare, an NGO where Bhuniya is the secretary. Bhuniya, however, said he was not on the council's scrutiny committee.

They all work out of the same address spread over two floors in a south Calcutta locality .

In 1990, the state government had formed a voluntary co-ordinating agency , the predecessor of the ACA, with which Bhuniya was associated from the start. The same year, the minister of social welfare, Biswanath Chowdhury, issued a circular saying the agency could issue clearances for adoptions within and outside the country, according to Bhuniya.

This was peculiar to Bengal as these agencies in other states have no authority over adoptions within the country.
This made doubly sure that all adoption cases came to Bhuniya.

Well, almost. There is one law, the Juvenile Justice Act of 2000, which makes the roles of Bhuniya's outfits more or less redundant. But parents were generally discouraged from petitioning the courts to legalise adoptions under this law.

A person who once worked closely with Bhuniya said: "He has knowledge of all cases of adoption in court and manipulates them in such a way that cases filed under the Juvenile Justice Act are impeded.
In many cases, the child is not given in adoption by the court."

Bhuniya, however, said: "The Juvenile Justice Act doesn't mention any procedure. It only says adoption is possible. Who is receiving the child and who is giving him away are not mentioned."

The act does mention who can adopt and who can give a child away for adoption. But it is not clear why the government has kept the other, older, communal-sounding law -the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act -in operation after passing the Juvenile Justice Act.

A former social welfare official added: "Bhuniya used to mislead judges with his interpretation of law, especially the judges of the Barasat and Birbhum courts, and force all in-country adoption cases to go through a scrutiny ."

Bhuniya was dismissive about these charges against him. "All such complaints against me are anonymous or pseudonymous. The aim is to remove me from the ACA," he said.

The third, and final, layer of activity Bhuniya was, or still is, allegedly engaged in is running adoption agencies that are authorised to hand over babies to adoptive parents. One, called the Vivekananda Welfare and Development Society, a home for children, was allegedly being run from his house at 18C Kalimuddin Lane, Maniktala, though his name was not among those of the office-bearers.

Bhuniya said: "I didn't have an adoption agency . This society is not involved in adoption work any more."

His name has also been associated with a children's home called Vivekananda Loksiksha Niketan at Faridpur village in East Midnapore but again he cannot be directly linked to it.

Rinchen Tempo said: "A fact-finding team is at work, inquiring into the various allegations against Bhuniya.
Most of them (adoption agencies) are run by him under other names. But till the factfinding team gives its report, nothing can be concluded."

Bhuniya does, however, have an open role as chairman of the Child Welfare Committee, East Midnapore. All children abandoned and surrendered in the district have to be produced before the committee within 24 hours.

If a person has control over the committee, he can send children to the home of his preference.

The authorities have mostly been kind to Bhuniya. In 2004, the central agency wrote saying the same person could not head the voluntary co-ordinating agency, which later became the ACA, and the scrutiny agency and threatened action within 15 days but it was a hollow roar.

Bhuniya asked that if the agency was unhappy with the situation, why did it renew his licence, in 2003 and 2006?
It was only in 2009 that action was taken against him by the Central Adoption Resource Agency when it did not renew his ACA licence on the ground that he had flouted its guidelines by remaining secretary for over two terms, and proposed another ACA.
Lurking in the background was the suspicion that he was also controlling adoption agencies.

Bhuniya went to court, claiming he had not completed two terms and that another ACA could not be formed while his application for renewal was pending. He argued that since his ACA term began to run from 2006 and each term was for three years, there was no case against him. But he had also been heading the voluntary co-ordinating agency (the predecessor of the ACA) for several years.

Calcutta High Court has disposed of the case, instructing the two sides how to resolve the dispute. By October 28, Bhuniya was to reply to the complaints against him forwarded by the social welfare department. The renewal of his licence depends on what the authorities think of his reply.

This means the state is now without an ACA.

Bhuniya's Ramesh Mitra Road office, sprinkled with seven-eight employees, has little work as scrutiny duties have also ebbed with New Delhi insisting on using the Juvenile Justice Act.

Without work, the godfather of adoptions is now an angry godfather.

Countries: India

Persons: Anil Bhuniya

Babies for sale

Saturday , October 30 , 2010 |

Babies for sale

The Telegraph exposé: Newborn and legal papers, all for Rs 2.5 lakh

CHANDREYEE GHOSE AND SANJOY CHATTOPADHYAYA

A baby can be bought for Rs 2.5 lakh in Calcutta for adoption through an illegal process that in the end yields legal papers, two Telegraph journalists have found.

Countries: India