District Child Protection Officer Suspended

Amitava Banerjee, MP, 5 March 2017, Darjeeling, Sashmita Ghosh, District Child Protection Officer (DCPO,) Jalpaiguri was suspended by the Jalpaiguri District Administration. Meanwhile, the "Influential people" and officials in Delhi with whom Juhi Chowdhury, the BJP leader accused in the child trafficking and illegal adoption racket case, was in touch with would be called for questioning by the CID soon. 

Rachna Bhagat, District Magistrate, Jalpaiguri stated: "The DCPO had been show-caused. However, as her reply was not satisfactory, she has been suspended. We have also proposed for her termination to the department concerned." 

CID sleuths, during interrogation, have found that 17 children were sold by Chandana Chakraborty from 2014 to 2015 from the homes owned by her. 

When the Child Welfare Committee found anomalies and mounted pressure on her, the homes furnished the names and addresses of the biological parents of the babies. They even furnished Restoration Orders of the children (orders by which the children had been restored to their biological parents. 

With the child trafficking and illegal adoption racket coming out in the open and the three homes - Bimala Sishu Griho, Ashroy Short Stay Home and North Bengal People's Development Committee shut down, CID sleuths started looking for the 17 kids who the homes claimed were restored. 

The CID found that the names and addresses of the name of the parents are all fake. The fake addresses and restoration orders were allegedly conjured up by Mrinal Ghosh, DCPO, Darjeeling and Dr Debasish Chanda, CWC member, Darjeeling. Both have been arrested and are in police custody at present. 

The CID is trying to trace the 17 kids and their biological parents. They are interrogating Sashmita Ghosh to dig out any information regarding these kids.