Fake police document to adopt a girl
Original in Nepali, Translated by Mr. Purushottam Lamsal
-By Pratima Baskota
Kathmandu, June 22 (Tuesday)
A guardian has claimed that, without her permission, a children’s home named Prayash Nepal at Baluwatar, Kathmandu, has sent her daughter abroad as an adopted daughter on the ground of a fake police document.
She has said that her daughter Smriti was sent to Italy by making fake profile in the official letter pad of local community police. Though the children home says that the girl was referred by police, the letter itself seems to be a suspicious one.
The reference letter of police, received by 'Kantipur' daily, states that Smriti, daughter of a local homeless (*Sukumbasi) Sarita Bhujel of Shantinagar, was handed over to Prayash Nepal in 29, January 2007. The letter's 'dispatch/serial number' is 40. But the police have kept record of the letters of the period during 18, July 2006 to 10, November 2006 only. In the police record book, two pages are left blank following the last date (10, November 2006) after which new records for 2007 has been shown.
"This letter must have been misused by someone" says a policeman of this branch" Every letters sent from here contains the dispatch number but this letter's dispatch number is not found to be recorded here."
The letter is signed by Phool Kumari Paudel, the then Head Constable (Havaldaar). She is now Assistant Sub Inspector at Chabahil Community Police. She said that she had handed over some children, found in abandoned state, to the children home but she doesn't remember about Smriti. "All the letters sent by me contained the 'dispatch/serial numbers'-she said."
But Smriti's mother said that she herself had kept her daughter at Prayash Nepal through a lady who was her neighbor. On Monday, she had gone to that children home to seek her daughter. She said-"I kept her there because I was told that they would educate my daughter till * S.L.C. I met her only for 5 times. Later when I tried to meet her I was not permitted saying that she was having her examinations. And now they have sent my daughter abroad without informing me." During these years she had been married again.
On Monday, CCWB wrote a letter to the children home to return the girl. Sarita had reached there with that letter. The situation became quite tensed when Mani Joshi, the director of the home, said that the child had been found in an abandoned condition.
The executive director of CCWB, Mr. Dharma raj Shrestha said that the children home had committed a mistake. He said that chidlren homes have done mischief with help of police and local administration. "These kind of problems have increased in recent days" he added.
The owner of the children home, Mani Joshi claimed that she was handed over the girl by the police with a letter. "I have not done any fake works; police handed over her to me. We received the girl when the Community Police sent a letter saying that the girl was found in an abandoned state. Her mother came in our contact only after she was sent to Italy."
See also http://www.brandeis.edu/investigate/gender/adoption/docs/FakePoliceDocumenttoAdoptaGirl_Kantipur22June2010.doc
Notes added by us at PPL
*Sukumbasi seems to mean landless, not homeless. Probably living in a squatter's community
** SLC = School Leaving Certificate