Pune orphanage given clean chit

NEW DELHI: The Maharashtra government has given a clean chit to an orphanage in Pune against which Denmark had made allegations of irregularities in adoptions, leading that country to suspend adoption of children from India.

The probe carried out by the Commissionerate of Women and Child Development, Maharashtra, on directions of the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), found that the allegations against the orphanage were ill-founded.

Denmark had on the basis of allegations made by one Ramesh Kulkarni that his two children who he had put in Preet Mandir, had been adopted in the Scandinavian country without his knowledge, suspended all adoptions from India in June this year.

The report, recently submitted to Women and Child Development Minister Renuka Chowdhury, states that Kulkarni has accepted he knows his children -- Rani, Rucha,Radhika and Rohit -- were given in adoption.

According to the report, Kulkarni had in a documentary aired on Danish TV alleged that his two children were adopted in Denmark without his knowledge and consent even though his four children were put up for adoption in that country.

"All the papers were in order. All four children were adopted as per the guidelines of CARA," CARA Chairman J K Mittal said.

Mittal said Kulkarni agreed that he had "relinquished" his children.

He agreed that he himself made the relinquishment deed that was also signed by his sister Jayshree Kulkarni and brother-in-law Tukaram Kulkarni as witnesses.

"We submitted the report of the investigation to the minister last week. Now, the government will take up the issue with the Danish government," Mittal said.

Denmark is among the top foreign countries where Indian children are adopted. As many as 1,300 children from India were adopted there between 1991 and 2006. The US tops the list in terms of adoptions from India, with the number standing at 4,811 during the same period.