Centre begins Crackdown on Orphanage Mafia

The Central government has begun its crackdown on the orphanage mafia
that has gained a firm footage in the country. As part of this, Union
Minister for Child Welfare Maneka Gandhi has ordered a thorough inspection of all orphanages in the country. It has also been observed that orphanages in Kerala have their own set of rules in functioning, while all other states observe rules and regulations chalked out by central government regarding the same.

A detailed plan of action has been chalked out to bring to book, all offenders involved in orphanage mafia. Inquiry wil follows all trails of orphanage mafia and discrepancies involved, religious conversion, issues related to flow of foreign funds etc. Also, Kerala’s flouting of rules and regulations laid down by Centre, related to functioning of orphanages will also be dealt with severely.

For quite some time, Kerala orphanages had been adhering to convenient breech of rules, citing the precarious situation Kerala was in,regarding the issue. The main reason for this is the mammoth inflow of foreign funds into the state via Muslim and Christian orphanages.

“These,” state sources, “do not fall into any legal section as these religious centres amass wealth, all in the name of these charity organizations and by displaying a set of orphans. The Left- Right government fronts have also stood by these activities. Official records state that over 50,000 children are present in Kerala’s orphanages, who do not come under any legal protection. For the same reason, there is no record of what happens to these children either.”

Reports also point to activities such as religious conversion to horrendous crimes like organ rackets and child prostitution, all widely prevalent behind the massive orphanage walls. All these are being hushed up and shrouded as well guarded secrets by concerned officials themselves. Political parties too are said to have turned a blind eye towards the same.

Various groups have called for the centre’s intervention in the matter
related to Kerala’s orphanages, with the centre having sought all details related to the number of children in each orphanage, the number of orphanages that run legally and the places from where children reach these orphanages, age of these children, number of girls and boys who are inmates of these orphanages.