Bhopal: Boy's adoption cancelled after prospective parents trace his biological parents

BHOPAL: A six-year old child, who was declared legally free for adoption, was sent back to the Bhopal-based Special Adoption Agency (SAA) when his prospective adoptive parents traced his biological parents in Jhansi during the pre-adoption process.

The couple from Gujarat , who wished to adopt the child, contacted the Child Welfare Committee after they managed to trace his home in Jhansi.

The process of adoption is now being cancelled.

The Madhya Pradesh Protection of Child Rights Commission (MPPCRC) has written a letter to the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), inquiring into the process of making the child legally free.

The boy was found by Railway Childline and produced before the CWC in May. The CWC sent him to a city SAA.

Maintaining that the boy had not told them his address, the CWC members alleged that the SAA had failed to trace his parents and did not establish the fact before them that he belongs to Jhansi.

"When a child is sent to a SAA, it is the responsibility of the agency to try their level best to trace the biological parents of the child. During the first counselling with CWC, the child said that he belongs to Jhansi. We called up Jhansi CWC, but as there was no missing report, the child was sent to the SSA where they were given time to search for the parents of the boy," said Rajeev Jain, member of the CWC.

The CWC further said that the SAA had told the members that the child was an orphan two months later to make him legally free for adoption. "Two months after the child's arrival in Bhopal , the SAA said that he was an orphan. We are not sure if the SAA got an ad published in Jhansi papers or not while searching for the parents. We were assured that the whole process has been followed and asked to declare the child legally free after which his profile was uploaded on the website of the Central Adoption Resource Authority," Jain added.

Kripashankar Choubey, another CWC member, said, "The child was found by Railway Childline in May and was produced before us. He was made legally free after the SAA assured us that he was an orphan. The child was then sent to live with the prospective adoptive parents during the pre-adoption process that began last month. He told them his address and they went located his home in Jhansi."

The DCPU is looking into the matter while the adoption court is cancelling the process of adoption.

Brijesh Tripathi of District Child Protection Unit said, "The court is now cancelling the adoption process and the court will also take the details of the case from the concerned bodies so that proper action can be taken against the offenders."

The boy has been sent back to the SAA and his biological parents have been asked to produce their identification and some important documents to prove that the boy is their own son. "The boy's parents in have not produced documentary proof that the child belongs to them. Meanwhile, the boy has been sent back to the SAA. Once they show us the proper documents, the boy will be handed back to the biological parents," added Choubey.