No criminal intention made out against Mother Teresa's charity, says ex-vice chief NMC; demands judicial probe

Counterview Desk
In sharp defence of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in Jharkhand, Dr Abraham Mathai, former vice chairman of the National Minorities Commission (NMC), has said that it is being "falsely accused of child trafficking", as alleged by the state police. Even as the Roman Catholic Church has come out in its support following the arrest of a nun and an employee, saying that nun is "innocent", and her confession was extracted under pressure, Dr Mathai insists that "no criminal intention is made out, hence the FIR appears motivated."
Demanding judicial for fair investigation, Dr Mithai says that "if the Missionaries of Charity are guilty, punish them, but if not, do not hound them."

Text of Dr Mithai's statement:

The case in question is the ridiculous taunt by the media as ‘trafficking’, is actually about a childless couple from UP having paid 1.20 lakh for the child. Facts emerging from the investigation so far is that the maid working for the Missionaries of Charity pocketed Rs 20,000, the watchman Rs 10,000 and the unwed biological mother of the child Rs 90,000 to pursue her studies!
Where is the criminality and the criminal intentions of the nuns of the Missionaries of Charity in all this? The worst maximum charge against them is that they should be reprimanded for administrative lapse for not being vigilant enough.
Does the media know that the Government of India permits charging of Rs 40,000 as fee for an adoption in India and 5,000 US Dollars for a foreign adoption? Despite these rules permitting them to charge, the Missionaries of Charity have not charged a rupee from anyone at any of their adoption centres in the country so far as it goes against their very values and ethos.
In the Mumbai centre alone they have given over 7,500 children for adoption in the last few decades but not a single rupee has been collected. And today for the past 10 days they have been falsely accused of "child trafficking”.

Abraham Mathai

Additionally, the word trafficking does not fit into this context, since the children have not been sold for exploitation in any way, but only as a facilitation for adoption by the Missionaries of Charity. At the most, the sisters are probably guilty of naivety and for over-trusting the people they employed, and nothing more, neither in criminal law, nor otherwise. Hence it is absolutely ridiculous and shameful to falsely charge the nuns of the Missionaries of Charity in Jharkhand with child trafficking an act which negates their raison d’être.
It is a settled rule of criminal law that no statement given to a police officer can be used in a court of law except when such statements are given in the presence of a magistrate. In the present instance, the police are doing everything they can to garner media attention and create an atmosphere of hatred and even releasing confessions made in Police custody to select TV channels.
It is ironic that in today’s media-driven world, confessions that have no sanctity of law are being aired on media channels. It is no secret that in the case involving a high profile school in Gurgaon, where a student was murdered, the driver was arrested and his statement in police custody was used to brand him guilty of murder only for the police to retract and eat humble pie later.
In the present circumstances, the police is playing to the gallery, and in order to satisfy the media is baying for their blood. However, any prudent person will see that the local state police is not fit to investigate the matter. A judicial probe is needed in the present case to further the cause of justice.
If time proves that the Missionaries of Charity are not guilty, will there be any action against the police and the conspirators ?
Hence this is a very big blot to the conscience of the nation when baseless and false criminal charges are used as an excuse to accuse and arrest the nuns for committing an act which is clearly against the moral and ethical convictions of the Missionaries of Charity. Their service to the nation is well known through their facilities around the country and worldwide.
The Missionaries of Charity is no doubt recognised locally and internationally as the epitome of providing solace and comfort to suffering humanity, resulting in Mother Teresa honoured with the Nobel Prize for her purely altruistic and benevolent humanitarian acts.

It is highly grievous to witness such a multitude of injustice that is being inflicted on those nuns of our nation who had sought an oath in life to serve humanity. These are those very people we are accusing of trafficking who have genuinely and sacrificially dedicated their heart and soul into leading a benevolent and a compassionate life for our children, for us and for our nation. It is unimaginable to accuse them of something heinous like trafficking of children and babies.

They have devoted their life to save the downtrodden sections of our society notably lepers and the marginalised which our very own society ostracise on many social levels. Instead of encouraging these voluntary organisations to holistically carry forth their solicitous and considerate pursuits: We have been falsely accusing them of committing despicable acts which indeed is detrimental to our society’s larger welfare and interests.
It is a shame that these selfless wonderful human beings who are here to serve humanity are under the radar of false accusations and allegations. These are those nuns who have dedicated their entire life to the utmost welfare of the lesser privileged of our nation yet we as a society have failed to recognise their sacrifices, their compassion and their humane demeanour.
All I intend to ask everyone who seeks to believe in such allegations: Is this what philanthropic and altruistic people of our nation deserve in return for their humanitarian perspectives and endeavours? These accusations are not a question on their morality, but these are questions for us, on our collective conscience as a society and nation who have failed to recognise the simplicity of their benevolent outlook and life.
The judiciary should therefore immediately take suo moto cognisance of the matter to safeguard the nuns from victimisation engineered by malicious motives to bring the admirable work of Missionaries of Charity to shame and disrepute both at home and abroad.

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