West Bengal government recognised institutes, who are in charge of adoption, are conniving with touts and agents to sell babies illegally, a Zee 24 Ghanta expose has revealed.
The racket reportedly operates out of Sodepur in North 24 Parganas district and babies are often sold at a premium with an assurance of speedy ‘delivery’. The expose puts to light that this adoption scam has not only spread across the state, but engulfed other states of the eastern region.
A TV reporter, who posed as a childless mother visited one such shady agency office and taped the conversation between the agent and herself.
The entire recorded conversation indicated that the rules laid down by the state government could be flouted and babies delivered if the couple agreed to pay Rs 4 lakhs.
This was a glaring violation of government norms, which places parents in the queue of the waiting list, through which babies are given for adoption turn by turn. This rule makes it mandatory for the parents to be scrutinised by government agencies to find how fit the parents are to welcome the new member into the family.
The racket has exposed a serious threat to babies who could be trafficked without any checks.
In the video recorded, the agent, Soma Dey, clearly promises that she would arrange for a speedy delivery and make all the necessary documents if the premium of Rs 4 lakhs is paid.
“A team of reporters from 24 Ghanta were following up on this racket for sometime now. Accordingly, a reporter and a cameraman posed as a childless couple and started investigating the case till they reached the doorstep of the racketeers. The state government took immediate action. I am hopeful that this expose will save lives of many infants,” said Anirban Choudhury, editor, 24 Ghanta channel.
The state government was quick to react, and Sashi Panja, Women and Child Development Minister immediately ordered officials of her ministry to set up a three-member committee to probe the adoption scam.
“We have set up a three-member fact-finding committee to probe into the matter. We are going to crackdown on these touts and agents soon,” said Panja.
Meanwhile, the state government has started the process of cancellation of all the unrecognised agencies that facilitate adoption.
