Custody of 3 sisters causes furore

Anahita Mukherji / TNN / Aug 16, 2007, 00:46 IST

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Another case involving the exploitation of minor girls in Malvani has come to the fore.

MUMBAI: Another case involving the exploitation of minor girls in Malvani has come to the fore.
A fortnight ago, three orphaned sisters who lived in Prem Sadan, an orphanage in Madh Island, were picked up from outside their school—St Anthony's School, Malwani—by a woman called E Radhamani, formerly their neighbour.
The case came to light after Agnes Salian, primary headmistress at St Anthony's, reported the matter to the Malwani police.Neighbours allege that Radhamani is a drug peddler.
The cops, however, allowed Radhamani to take the children home and keep them for 12 days, even though she was not related to them and nor was she their legal guardian. The police even advised her to put in an application for adoption.

This, despite the fact that, over the last few years, a large number of schoolgirls have gone missing from Malwani. The body of a four-year-old had been found in a ditch and a number of rape and molestation cases against schoolgirls have been reported from the area.
"The police made me write a letter on behalf of Radhamani, saying she was now adopting the children,'' says Salian. A copy of the letter, signed by Radhamani, is with TOI.

Inspector J Y Tambe from Malwani police station said the cops had allowed Radhamani to take the children on the basis of the letter. "But how can the police allow Radhamani to take the girls home based on a signed piece of paper? As per the law, there is a procedure for adoption. To adopt a child, approval from the Child Welfare Committee is required,'' said Professor Asha Bajpai from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
It was only on Saturday, when Snehalata Burute and Poonam More from Balprafulta, a child rights organisation, intervened and told the police that it was illegal for Radhamani to keep the children, that they took custody of the girls. After spending Saturday night at the police station, the girls were taken to the state-run Children's Home at Mankhurd. The CWC, which is looking into the matter, did not permit this reporter to speak to the kids.
The schoolbus conductor, Sheetal Vaiti, confirmed that the girls had been taken from the bus stand outside the school, but did not see the person who took the children away. Radhamani, however, claims the children came to her on their own as they were unhappy in the orphanage, and looked upon her as their mother.
The girls were at Prem Sadan for over a month, after their 20-year-old brother Vishwanath signed a letter to the Prem Sadan authorities saying he wanted to enrol them in the orphanage. Earlier they used to live with their mother in Malwani village. Their father had died a few years ago.
"Two weeks before the girls' mother died of TB in April, she visited me in school, and told me not to let Radhamani get hold of her house or her daughters,'' said Salian. "The mother even alleged that after her husband's death, Radhamani had taken all the gold from their house."
Radhamani denied all the allegations. "The children's mother was like a sister to me. I have helped bring up the children since the time they were born."
anahita.mukherji@timesgroup.com

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