NGO office sealed in Pampore, two arrested over ‘sale’ of COVID orphans

Srinagar, Dec 2: Police along with the civil administration on Thursday arrested two persons besides sealing the office of a ‘NGO’ in south Kashmir’s Pulwama a day after registering a FIR over the alleged illegal adoption and “sale” of children of COVID-19 victims in Kashmir.

As per report, two Kashmiri men running NGOs have surfaced in an alleged racket “selling” children of COVID-19 victims.

While one offered the children for adoption against Rs 75,000, the second accused running an NGO in south Kashmir’s Pampore demanded as much as Rs 10 lakh in return of newborn children of COVID victims, some of them lifted from hospitals, for adoption, the ‘India Today’ report said.

official sources reported that a team of police and local civil administration sealed the office of the NGO ‘Global Welfare Charitable Trust’ at Sambura Pampore and arrested two persons during the raid. The identity of the arrested persons was not immediately known.

Mission Director ICPS had on Wednesday directed the concerned authorities after which a FIR was lodged at Police Station Pampore against the alleged culprits.

Besides, Secretary, Social Welfare Department, Sheetal Nanda has taken up the issue with IGP, Kashmir, in order to ensure immediate action in the matter and initiate legal course of action under relevant laws, an official handout said.

In addition, Mission Director, ICPS J&K, Shabnam Kamili, has issued instant orders to Child Welfare Committees “to meet COVID orphans personally which have already been identified by the department and uploaded on different online portals of Government of India and submit a report to the Directorate of ICPS within a day’s time”.