Another TV sting turns out to be fake

A sting carried out by a national news channel on trafficking of children under the guise of adoption has turned out to be a fake, according to a preliminary CBI probe.

CNN-IBN had claimed to have exposed Preet Mandir, a child adoption agency from Pune. The report alleged that the agency had procured children from unwed mothers and kept them in unhygenic and inhuman conditions at two of its units in Pune, and it charged exorbitant sums of money from foreign parents keen on adopting children and even it had manipulated documents regarding maintenance and their medical records too.

A preliminary enquiry by the CBI has, however, found nothing against the child adoption agency and in a report to the Bombay High Court, submitted recently, the central investigative agency said none of the allegations were substantiated after recording several statements, inspecting bank documents and other materials. In fact, the CBI has given a clean chit to the Preet Mandir, saying it has enquired into all aspects.

The CBI found that neither the allegations of Preet Mandir procuring children from unwed mothers nor of keeping them in unhygenic conditions were true. It had also found that the living conditions at the agency's two centres in Pune are hygenic and good for living.

After scrutinising the data available with different authorities and government agencies, the central agency concluded that the agency was working very much within the prescribed limits and as per rules framed for adoption.

The bank statements of the agency for past some years were also scrutinised by the CBI, but in that too, it did not find anything wrong. Further allegations of receiving huge amounts of money from foreign agencies and parents and manipulating records, too, have been found baseless. The CBI found that the amounts received by Preet Mandir were actually utilised for betterment of the children.

The High Court directed the CBI to undertake an enquiry after a petition was filed by Thane-based NGO Advait Foundation. In the petition, the Foundation raised concerns over virtual sale of children under the guise of adoption. The petition was primarily based on the news channel's expose. A Division bench comprising Justice R M S Khandeparkar and Justice V K Tahilramani is slated to hear the matter next week.

-- (UNI) -- 08BY34.xml

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