Cuttack: The Childline officials here have failed to rescue a child, abandoned six years ago, after the boy cried relentlessly, obviously resisting bid to separate him from his foster parents.
The incident occurred at a village in Mahanga in the district Monday. According to locals, Satyanand Das and his wife Santilata of Dharpur have a betel shop at Hirakud in Sambalpur. The couple found a baby boy near a temple at Hirakud December 25, 2011.
The Das couple had adopted the child after they failed to trace any claimant in this regard. The couple along with their adopted son had visited Dharpur a few days ago, sources said.
On being informed by a villager, district childline coordinator Narayan Shukla and member Aparajita Pradhan reached Mahanga to take custody of the child. The childline officials also informed the matter to local police.
“The childline officials could not rescue the child as he was too scared to get separated from the Das couple. They have advised the couple to produce the child before district child welfare committee (CWC) at the earliest,” said a police official.
CWC chairperson Bikash Mahapatra said the couple had not adopted the child as per the existing norms. “No one can adopt an abandoned child without the consent or approval of Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). Any violation in this regard will invite penalty and imprisonment,” he said.
Mahapatra urged the district administration to create awareness among people on the new norms of adoption. “We advise people against adopting abandoned babies without the approval of the authorities concerned,” Mahapatra said.
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