Centre wakes up after baby-selling scandal, orders inspection of all Mother Teresa care homes

The Women and Child Development Ministry has directed all the states to immediately inspect child care homes run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, reported news agency ANI.

The Centre’s direction to inspect the child care homes came after recent cases of illegal adoption in Missionaries of Charity shelter home in Jharkhand.

On July 5, a woman staffer and a sister of Nirmal Hriday, a shelter home run by the Missionaries of Charity in Ranchi, was arrested allegedly for selling a baby born to a minor inmate.

Taking cognizance of these cases, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi gave the states a deadline of one month to ensure all the child care homes are registered and linked to Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).

Also Read | Jharkhand: Sister, staff of Missionaries of Charity held for selling babies

According to an estimate, there were approximately 6,300 child care institutions across the country, of which only 2,300 were linked with the CARA and around 4,000 were still pending.

The union minister expressed her dissatisfaction and displeasure that the children of the CARA linked 2,300 child care homes had not been brought under the adoption system.

One estimate of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights stated that there were 2.3 lakh children in all the child care homes across the country.