A Mother Teresa-founded charity in India is under investigation for allegedly selling babies.
One nun and another staff member were reportedly arrested on the grounds at the Mission of Charity in Jharkhand for allegedly selling a baby to an Indian couple for around $1,700, The Daily Mail noted.
Police were alerted to a possible illegal adoption scam last week after the state’s Child Welfare Committee discovered that a newborn boy was missing from the center, which cares for unmarried pregnant women and mothers in distress.
The two women were arrested for child trafficking but could face additional charges as investigations widen.
"The women have admitted to four more such cases which we are in the process of verifying. The families which bought the babies are also under our radar and will face action," said Ranchi police senior superintendent Aneesh Gupta, according to The Daily Mail.
Police spokeswoman Sunita Kumar said the baby boy was handed over to the couple living in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand state, by one of the employees at the Mission of Charity in May, ABC News noted.
The couple said the employee later contacted them and asked that they bring the baby to the shelter to complete certain formalities but, upon their arrival, the child was taken away.
They alerted CWC, which notified police.
CWC chairman Rupa Kumari told the BBC that the Mission of Charity told the couple the money they were paying was for hospital expenses, however, investigating police recovered $2,150 from the center.
A police official told BBC Hindi's Niraj Sinha that they have found other babies that allegedly have been illegally sold from the center.
"We have obtained the names of the mothers of these babies and are further investigating."
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