Police toiling to trace fourth child: SSP

Senior SP, Ranchi Anish Gupta today said that the three infants sold by a worker and sister of Nirmal Hriday run by Missionaries of Charity have been recovered and police are toiling hard to trace the fourth child. He said that there was no clear figure of how many infants have been sold till date but investigation is in crucial stage in the case to find out the numbers and other people involved in the crime.

The SSP, while talking to media persons here on Saturday, said that the Child Welfare Committee and Social Welfare officer have checked the records and registers of the ward run by Sister Koshleniea. The investigation is going on in a positive direction and as soon as a new development takes place we shall take appropriate steps, he added.

On being asked whether the police have the exact number of kids born and sold from the shelter home, Gupta said that police have no concrete figure but as per the figures obtained by DWO from the registers about 120 admissions were done between 2016-18. He said that verification of women admitted at the centre and how many children had taken birth and their whereabouts are being traced.

He said that police are also investigating as to how many kids born from the pregnant women at the centre and were given to couples for monitory benefits.

Meanwhile, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha chief Babulal Marandi today visited Nirmal Hriday centre at East Jail Road in the Capital City. He had detailed conversation with the sisters, staff and inmates there. The former CM said that the government is targeting the missionaries for political benefits.

“A lot of politics is involved in the issue. Government is targeting the missionaries for political gains. The Missionaries of Charity is serving the society since decades and if any crime has been committed by a couple of people, investigation must be done in the case,” Marandi said. The government is creating sensation unnecessarily in a bid to malign the image of those people who have been serving the society since long, he added.

After the racket of child selling was busted on July 3, government agencies swung into action and arrested a staff Anima Andwar and Sister Koshleniea for allegedly selling infants to couples. While, Police and CWC are investigating the case, the State government is looking at the prospect of higher agency probe in the case after recommendation of the State Police for investigation by an appropriate agency as the funds granted to the international NGO have various links across the State and the country.