Complainant in adoption racket case alleges threat
Anjali Pawar-Kate, director of Sakhee and a complainant against the alleged adoption racket at Preet Mandir, on Wednesday filed a police complaint against a South African adoptive family, alleging that one of its members had threatened her over phone.
“I received a call at 7.12 pm on Wednesday from an international number. It was a woman and she started abusing me. She asked me to stop interfering in the adoption matter, else I will have to face dire consequences,” Pawar said.
She said in her complaint that she had called back on the number and got to know that the call was from a woman in South Africa — an adoptive parent of Preet Mandir. The complaint has been lodged with Sahakar Nagar police. “The woman concerned had filed an application with Preet Mandir to adopt a child before the adoption house’s licence was suspended. The Bombay High Court has ruled that the adoption could go ahead only after a complete investigation.”
This is Pawar’s second application after she had written to the police about threats from Preet Mandir trustees.
The South African adoptive parent agreed that she had made a call to Pawar on Wednesday, but denied that she had threatened her. An e-mail response from her said, “I called her yesterday in an attempt to confront her with issues that have come to my attention and which I will be able to substantiate in a court of law. Pawar has been approaching the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) officials and threatening them not to assist in the 18 pipeline adoption cases of Preet Mandir. I wanted to know from her as to why is she still interfering with the process when a clearance has been given to these 18 cases. I am baffled as to how anything I said can be construed as a threat as I am a lawyer myself and I know the parameters of what can be construed as criminal.”
The woman also alleged that Pawar had accessed and disclosed her personal information regarding the religion of the adoptive baby and the baby’s biological father. “I am totally nonplussed as to how these individuals have access to such confidential information. I plan to take this matter further with the authorities, including the Indian Embassy in South Africa,” she said in her email.
It was in 2007 that Pawar had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court, alleging a racket of international adoptions at Preet Mandir.