Ranchi: A series of five short video clips, apparently leaked by police to counter church accusations that a Nirmal Hriday nun's confession on the alleged baby sale racket had been coerced, surfaced on Saturday morning, but the revelations in them did not seem to offer any new clues to unravelling the case that is making national headlines.
In one of the video clips, a sister who identifies herself as Sister Koncilia (not Koshleniea as reported earlier), purportedly confesses to her role in selling four infants at the Missionaries of Charity-run Nirmal Hriday centre on East jail Road here.
The nun is heard saying she sold three babies and gave away the fourth for free. The male voice (apparently of a policeman) is heard asking specifically about couples (baby buyers) in four places, Uttar Pradesh, Ranchi's Morabadi and Kantatoli, and Simdega.
The nun says the baby given to a Simdega woman (daughter-in-law of former Congress minister Theodore Kiro) was given for free.
All the babies had been born to unwed mothers who were inmates of Nirmal Hriday.
In the clip, Sister Koncilia also clarifies that she had not informed shelter home head Sister Meridian about these deals.
Sister Meridian's statement is on video too. She is heard saying she was clueless and that she sensed foul play when a joint team of CWC and Ranchi district welfare department visited shelter home and detected a possible racket.
Sources also claimed to The Telegraph that Nirmal Hriday employee Anima Indwar disclosed to them during interrogation that the missionaries were forcing her to own up to the responsibility of the baby sale racket. Both Indwar and Koncilia have been arrested.
A police officer present during Indwar's interrogation said Indwar had claimed on Friday night that she was being made a scapegoat. Her purported confession came after CBCI general secretary Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas disowned her and defended shelter home officials a day before.
"I was just a mazdoor at the shelter home getting Rs 5,800 a month who obeyed orders of shelter home officials to deliver babies to buyers," a police source quoted her as saying. Indwar also apparently alleged that she knew a good number of babies born to unwed mothers had been sold in the past from this shelter home.
Indwar also gave police a chit which she claimed was given to her by Sister Koncilia inside Birsa Munda Central Jail. The chit instructs Indwar what she should tell the police. "(Name of an unwed mother) aur (name of another unwed mother) ka paisa main rakhi hoon. 78 hazar wapas karne ke liye bag me rakhi hun aur 22 hazar bhi wapas kar dungi. Sister nahin janti hai (I've kept the money of two unwed mothers. There's Rs 78,000 in the bag and I will return Rs 22,000 too. Sister (Koncilia) is innocent," the chit that The Telegraph read said.
The amounts refer to Rs 1 lakh in total received from the alleged sale of two babies at Rs 50,000 each. The chit, purportedly written by Koncilia, clears her of any blame.
One baby referred in the chit was recovered by Ranchi police from the home of Umendra Singh and Deepdhari Devi from Morabadi last Sunday. Another baby was sold to a family in Kantatoli but has not been recovered yet.
Ranchi district child welfare committee stumbled upon baby sale racket on July 3 after an Uttar Pradesh couple, Saurabh and Priti Agarwal, knocked on the door of the CWC claiming they had paid Rs 1.20 lakh to Nirmal Hriday on May 14 to get a baby but Indwar took the infant away on the pretext of completing legal formalities. Indwar could not give information about fourth child sent to Simdega.
CWC summoned Indwar and informed Kotwali thana cum anti-human trafficking thana, setting events in motion rolling in the case that created a sensation on the national media.
