Chennai: Union External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday informed that she has asked minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi for a thorough investigation into the adoption process of three-year-old Sherin Mathews, who was killed by her foster father Wesley Mathews in the US recently.
Swaraj said that she has also asked Anupam Ray, consul general of India in Houston, to ensure the murder of the baby is taken to a logical conclusion.
In the backdrop of the incident, passports for adopted children will be issued only with prior clearance by Ministry of Child Development in all the cases, Sushma Swaraj tweeted.
Before her adoption, the little girl was known as Saraswati. The Kerala couple Wesley Mathews and his wife Sini adopted her from an orphanage, Mother Teresa Ananth Seva Ashram at Nalanda.
Recently, the Nalanda district collector Thiyagarajan SM told Mirror that on verification it has come to light that the orphanage had followed the norms. The district administration had ordered a probe following the death of the baby girl, Bangalore mirror reported.
“The central agency has given the NOC for this specific case which means the adoption process was followed. So there is nothing much that can be done by the administration for now,” Thiyagarajan said.
The Superintendent of Police, Nalanda Sudhir Kumar Porkia said that in this specific case Texas police have already investigating into it so in the course of the investigation if they come across some issues relating to the adoption we will intervene in the issue.
Police as such cannot take suo motu cognizance of the case, he pointed out.
It may be noted that Richardson police department in US recently arrested the toddler’s father Wesley Mathews in connection with her death. The cause of death is yet to be ascertained.
Sherin Mathews went missing on the morning of October 7 from their Richardson home. Her body was recovered on Sunday.