Now, NCPCR to take action in Subarnapur

Rights activist Srikumar Mahanta has urged the Union Child and Woman Development Ministry seeking an impartial investigation into the matter of a child who was rescued from hospital and later kept as an orphan in a rehab home and direction to the authorities for locating the parents, who are at large.

Notably, the child was rescued at the DHH, Sonepur on February 20, after his mother had deserted him to avoid criticism and scorn of society since the father of the child had cheated her and absconded.

Meanwhile, the Ministry forwarded the petition to the National Commission for Child Rights Protection (NCPCR) for action.

In the memorandum to the Union Ministry of Child and Woman Development, the rights activist mentioned that it is a shame for the society that a two-month baby was dissociated from his mother and father and handed over to an adoption agency by a false report or to hide truth by the Health and Police Departments. The child is getting denotation as an orphan while his father and mother are living. This is clear violation of the child’s rights under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution, he said.

Every child has a fundamental right to maintain a loving relationship with the mother. A maternal bond is the relationship between a mother and her child. The Health department has violated the fundamental rights of the child by dissociating him from his mother as the officials are well aware who his mother is.

He urged the Ministry to direct the Chief Secretary of Odisha to set up an inquiry committee to investigate the case and take action against the erring employees of the Health department. He also urged a direction to the Odisha Government to identify the child’s mother by taking the help of CCTV footage of the DHH, Sonepur and direct the SP of Subarnapur to conduct an investigation expeditiously for nabbing the father of the child.