Sale of Covid orphans: Police seal NGO office, arrest 2 in Pampore

Sale of Covid orphans: Police seal NGO office, arrest 2 in Pampore

PAMPORE: Police in Pampore on Thursday sealed the office of non-governmental organisation (NGO) Global Welfare Charitable Trust at Pampore area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
Two officials of Global Welfare Charitable Trust have been arrested by police for alleged involvement in illegal adoption and sale of Covid orphans in Kashmir.
Police officials told Kashmir Reader that a team of police officials led by SDPO Pampore Mir Imtiyaz Ahmad, SHO Pampore Mohammad Younis Khan and Naib Tehsildar Pampore Mohammad Ameen sealed the office of the NGO at Samboora village of Pampore.
Police had registered a case in this regard after an investigative report was published by India Today which claimed that the officials of the NGO sold COVID orphans for money.
SDPO Pampore Mir Imtiyaz Ahmad said that they arrested two persons, Aijaz Ahmad Dar, son of Abdul Hamid Dar, a resident of Khankahbagh Pampore, and Mohammed Amen Rather alias Ansar Ameen, son of Ghulam Mohammad, resident of Bemina Srinagar.
“After their name surfaced in the illegal sale of Covid orphans, an FIR 153 /2021 under section 370, 120-B IPC was registered at police station Pampore. Subsequently, both of them were arrested,” he said, adding that a police team led by him along with SHO Pampore Mohammad Younis Khan and Naib Tehsildar Pampore Mohammad Ameen sealed the NGO’s office.
“All documents found there were seized by police, “ he said.
The NGO’s office is in a rented building on second floor.
The SDPO Pampore said, “We are checking authenticity of the NGO and The locals told Kashmir Reader that they were shocked on learning about this racket operating in their area.
They demanded that the police probe the case thoroughly and give stringent punishment to the culprits.
The case was filed after mission director Shabnam Kamli directed the authorities concerned to take action and an FIR has been lodged at Pampore police station against the culprits, they said.
Sheetal Nanda, the secretary of the Social Welfare Department, has taken up the issue with the Kashmir IGP to ensure immediate action in the matter and initiate legal course of action under relevant laws.
In addition, Kamili has issued instant orders to child welfare committees to meet Covid orphans personally which have already been identified by the department and uploaded their details on different online portals of the Government of India and submit a report to the Directorate of ICPS within a day’s time, the officials said.
“Further, fact finding committees were also constituted for Jammu and Kashmir divisions in order to ascertain the number of orphans/Covid orphans and their well-being in all the districts of J&K,” they added.

 

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