KOLKATA: Missionaries of Charity Superior General Sister Prema on Friday expressed shock regarding the arrest of a nun who allegedly sold off an infant to a childless couple from Uttar Pradesh.
"We are completely shocked by what has happened in our home. It should never have happened, and it is completely against our moral convictions. We are carefully looking into this matter, and we will take all necessary precautions to ensure that such an episode should never happen again, if it has. We did not know anything about the incident," Sister Prema said in a statement.
The Nirmal Hriday, which was home to 11 pregnant women and 75 differently-abled people, were shifted to different homes after the news broke out. Also, 70 children from Missionaries of Charity's Nirmal Shishu Bhavan in Ranchi were shifted to other shelter homes.
Missionaries of Charity spokesperson Sunita Kumar said she was associated with the Missionaries of Charity for 45 years and such an incident never happened. "We can't understand whether somebody wanted to create a problem or it actually happened."
Asked whether the organisation was ready to face any consequence of the Jharkhand government's probe, Sunita said the organisation would wait for the probe findings.
The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) had made a surprise visit to Missionaries of Charity's Nirmal Hriday in Ranchi, and found the alleged discrepancies. CWC Ranchi unit head Rupa Verma lodged a police complaint and investigation led to arrest of another nun on Thursday. Primae facie, it came to light that three children were sold to different couples.