New Delhi (Sputnik) — Police in the northern Indian state of Jharkhand have arrested sister Koncilia, a nun at the Missionaries of Charity which shelters troubled girls and unwed mothers, was arrested on Thursday while another staff member, Anima Indwar, was arrested earlier on Wednesday. According to the police, they have sold at least four children in the recent past. A local court in Ranchi has remanded both to 14 days in judicial custody.
READ MORE: Indian Police Nab Kingpin Who Purchased Babies From Poor Families
"During the interrogation, it has been established that they had been selling out children of unwed mothers illegally by taking a huge amount of money, ranging from INR 50,000 to INR 150,000," S.N. Mandal, an officer at the Ranchi police station told Sputnik.
"We're completely shocked by what has happened in our home in Ranchi. It should never have happened. It is completely against our moral conviction. We are carefully looking into this matter. We will take all the necessary precautions that this kind of incident will never happen again," Missionaries of Charity said in a press release.
The racket of children being sold from the home was busted after the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) filed a complaint with Ranchi police on Tuesday. According to the police, a couple had approached CWC after the charity did not hand over children even after paying a sum of INR 120,000 to a lady working with the organization.
READ MORE: Indian Mother Sells Her Newborn to Fund Husband's Treatment
"A couple, Saurabh Kumar Agrawal and his wife Preeti Agrawal from Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh came into contact of Anima through a local relative living in Ranchi, where she had been working and the deal was finalized. The child was born on May 1 and it was sold out to the couple on May 14," Rupa Kumari, a CWC chairperson, said to local media.
The Missionaries of Charity had stopped giving children for adoption in 2015 after objecting to the Indian government's decision to allow single or divorced parents to adopt children.
