The boyfriend was picked up by Sahadevkhunta Police in Balasore’s Nari Sangh Shakti Sadan

Balasore: In the matter of an Odia girl adopted by a couple of the United States and the recent incident of the girl’s return to Odisha alleging her adopted mother the latest happening is that the girl, Sejal’s boyfriend Amar was picked up by Sahadev Khunta police in Balasore district of Odisha on Friday. He was picked up by police from the Nari Sangh Shakti Sadan.

It has been alleged that the boyfriend Amar blackmailed Sejal’s adopted mother Sushi John on several occasions. It has further been alleged that he asked for one crore rupees to the lady in the US and asked her to deposit in the bank account of his aunt.

Today, the police picked up Amar, on the charge of repeatedly trying to enter the Nari Sangh Shakti Sadan and was demanding to meet Sejal.

The police picked up him after complaint by the family as he could not produce any identification/ evidence to the Shakti Sadan employees.

Gujarat has recorded 1,297 child adoptions over the past decade, with girls accounting for 55% of all adoptions. November is observed nationwide as Adoption Awareness Month, with new data highlighting a growing preference for adopting girls even among parents settled abroad.

About 14% of children adopted in the past 10 years from Gujarat have found homes overseas.

Nationally, over 4,500 children were adopted in 2024–25, the highest in the last decade. Meanwhile, more than 36,000 parents have registered with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). From Gujarat alone, 177 children were adopted in the past decade, including 61 boys and 89 girls.

Who is eligible to adopt?

The incident came to light at Bhubaneswar Airport, where Sejal confessed that she created the false narrative simply to return to Odisha and reunite with her childhood friend and lover, Amar, who lives in Balasore.

Sejal John, an Odia girl living in the United States, has admitted to fabricating a viral video that accused her adoptive mother of physical abuse and forced religious conversion. The incident came to light at Bhubaneswar Airport, where Sejal confessed that she created the false narrative simply to return to Odisha and reunite with her childhood friend and lover, Amar, who lives in Balasore. 

Childhood Bond Rekindled Across Continents

Sejal had moved to America at a young age after being adopted. Though she built a new life abroad, her connection with Amar was revived years later through social media while she was in the 12th grade. Their bond deepened quickly, and Sejal began longing to return to Odisha to be with him, a desire she feared expressing openly to her adoptive family.

The Viral Video that Triggered International Concern

Protecting rights

Search for Origins is a sensitive and personal process

Search for Origins covers the series of steps a person undertakes in order to access information on their origins.

Based on its extensive field-experience and expertise related to post adoption services, especially in cross-border access to records, information, search and reunion, ISS is well-equipped to provide individualised support to adoptees and their families.

The Brazilian Association Terra dos Homens (Terra dos Homens) is a non-profit organization, founded by Claudia Cabral, a psychologist working in the social field since 1977 and concerned about the number of children separated from their families and living in shelters.

The organization's creation is an outgrowth of the work Claudia began in 1985, when she was the coordinator of a late interracial adoption program at the Fondation Terre des hommes in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The person then responsible for the program created the Brazilian Terra dos Homens, establishing a board of directors, appointing advisors, and acquiring legal autonomy in 1996. This autonomy enabled the establishment of new partnerships and the expansion of its field of action in Brazil, as a result of Claudia's relentless pursuit of fulfilling her mission of being an agent of change in an unjust welfare system.

In 2003, Terra dos Homens was certified as a Federal Public Utility entity. In 2006, it was certified as a State Public Utility and Social Assistance Charity entity.

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James Timermans is stepping down as manager at INEA. Since March 2023, James has worked diligently, on behalf of the Ministry of Justice and Security, to establish the first national expertise center for intercountry adoptees and their families.

James Timmermans is stepping down as manager at INEA. Since March 2023, James, commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and Security, has worked diligently to establish the first national expertise center for intercountry adoptees and their families. Ellen Giepmans, director of Fiom/INEA: “Thanks to his passion and dedication, great strides have been made during this period and a solid foundation has been laid. Now is the time for James to embark on a new path. We are grateful for his contribution and wish him all the best in his future career. In the coming years, we will confidently continue to build on the foundation he has laid.” 

INEA will be searching for a new manager in the coming period. Until then, Nicole Vening will be acting as interim manager for James Timmermans. For ongoing and future questions, please contact us at info@inea.nl .

Message from James Timmermans

Over the past three years, I have worked with great passion and dedication to lay a solid foundation for a new center of expertise for intercountry adoptees and their support network. A unique initiative, even internationally. It was an honor to work on this ambitious and sometimes challenging project.

Foster care is under pressure, even for babies in need: “One child had to wait two months in the hospital for a place.”

Currently, 164 babies aged 0 to 1 year are on the waiting list for foster care. The number of applications is increasing year after year. The number of babies placed outside their homes is also rising. "A baby often has to stay in the hospital for weeks because there's no suitable place anywhere."

Steven De Bock Domestic Reporter

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In a significant ruling, the Gujarat High Court has held that a registered adoption deed is legally binding and cannot be questioned by the Regional Passport Office, directing the authorities to process a minor girl’s passport application filed through petitioner on the basis of the deed.

The single judge bench of the high court, while allowing a petition filed by a UAE-based woman, observed, “Once the deed of adoption is registered, the same cannot be called in question by the Regional Passport Office. The passport authority is bound by law to take cognisance of the registered adoption deed.”

The court directed the passport authority to decide the fresh application on its own merits, in light of the registered adoption deed dated July 20, 2016 and the Ministry of External Affairs’ Office Memorandum dated November 14, 2024, preferably within six weeks.

The petitioner and her husband, residents of the United Arab Emirates, had adopted the minor girl. The passport authority closed the fresh application seeking issuance of minor passport through petitioner on the ground that the adoption was invalid under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (HAMA) since the adoptive parents belonged to different religions and therefore insisted on production of a proper court adoption order.

Wadapalli police said investigations are underway into both cases.

NALGONDA: Wadapalli police on Wednesday booked seven individuals in two separate cases for allegedly being involved in the illegal adoption of two infants in Damaracharla and Miryalaguda.

In the first incident, police registered a case against Vankudothu Seva and his wife, Bujji of Manthanda in Damaracharla mandal, for illegally adopting a baby girl. A case was also filed against Deepavath Srinivas and his wife Srivani of Munugothu Thanda, who allegedly gave the baby for adoption on November 2 near Uma General Hospital in Miryalaguda.

In the second incident, involving the illegal adoption of a baby boy on September 3, police booked Lavuri Sanjeeva and his wife, Urmila of Manthanda, who received the infant, and Radha of Yadagarapalli in Miryalaguda mandal, who allegedly gave the baby for adoption near Veena Hospital in Miryalaguda.

Wadapalli police said investigations are underway into both cases. District Integrated Child Development Services project director K Krishnaveni told TNIE that both infants were produced before the Child Welfare Committee and have since been shifted to Shishu Gruha in Nalgonda.

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Department of Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies, Radboud University, 6500 HC Nijmegen, The Netherlands

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Independent Researcher, 2023 SK Haarlem, The Netherlands

3