Mangalore, Oct 2: In an apparent case of child trafficking and conversion, a Mangalore-origin woman, who had been trafficked to Germany through a local Christian organization more than three decades ago, is now demanding justice.
According to Maria Chaya Schupp, a Germen citizen, she was born in a Hindu family at Ullal in Mangalore taluk, and was adopted by a German couple through Ullal based Nirmala Social Welfare Centre, run by Society of Sisters for Charity in 1981 when she was six.
Speaking to media persons here, Chaya, who is now 37, said that she had been pursuing to trace her biological mother since 1999. She alleged that the centre through wish she was adopted is refusing to divulge more details about her because the adaptation process was illegal.
"I'd like to take legal action against the Nirmala Social Welfare Centre, Ullal, Selvam Raj Kennett of Kennett Hospital, Madurai and all other persons involved in my illegal adoption,'' said Chaya, who is now a resident of Dieburg, 30km from Frankfurt in southern Germany.
Chaya has sought assistance from local lawyer Dinesh Hegde Ulepady, who inspected her adoption documents at the Madurai Court on August 23 this year. In 1981, Selvam had filed an application in the Madurai District Court, seeking permission to send Chaya to Germany. In her application Selvam said Chaya, born on March 24, 1976 was abandoned when she was 10 months old in 1977. Chaya says she vividly remembers she was with her mother till 1981 in Ullal and suspects kidnapping.
Recalling her childhood she spent in Hampankatta with her mother, she alleges many children may have been taken away from their biological parents for adoption. "The reason for this adoption racket is money which I can see in my case too. My adoptive parents Wolfgang and Ingrid Schupp paid DM 5000 deutsche marks (Rs 13,000 at that time) in 1981,'' she said.
When she returned to India in 1999, along with her foster mother, in search of her roots, Sisters at Nirmala Centre said her records were destroyed in rain and they had only her baptism record, where her name was referred as Chaya Maria. In 2005, and next year, her efforts to trace her roots were in vain.
œThough I belong to a Hindu family from Ullal, there's a certificate of baptism issued by St Sebastian's Church, Permannur (Ullal) which states I was baptized on January 15, 1980. When I went there, the parish priest said there were no baptism records, Chaya said suspecting that baptism may have been done because the German couple wanted a Christian child.
Chaya said that when she approached Ullal Police, their response was lukewarm as they merely asked Sisters about the records and returned. DK District Child Welfare Committee was also cold in their attitude, she said asserting that she has vivid memory of living at Nirmala Centre.
In her pursuit of justice, Chaya had approached High Court in 2009 but the single bench court dismissed the writ petition. She filed an appeal and in March 20, 2013, the HC asked Ullal Police to investigate the matter, who merely returned from Nirmala Centre when told no records were available.
In High Court, Society of Sisters for Charity, Nirmala Social Welfare Cente denied Chaya's contention she had been kidnapped from her biological mother and adopted.
The institution argued that prior to 1984, no formal recognition and licence was required to engage in adoption work. Currently, Maria Chaya Schupp is pursuing PhD at Kassel University in Germany.
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