US couple claims 2 kids adopted from Rewa were sexually abused

An alleged instance of sexual abuse of at least two former inmates of an NGO-run adoption center in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa has come to light, officials said on Wednesday. A complaint in this regard was raised by an American couple who had adopted a girl and a boy, both aged below six years, from Aanchal Shishu Kendra, an adoption center run by NGO Nivedita Kalyan Samiti.

Acting on the complaint, authorities have shut down the center and launched an investigation, officials informed. District Collector Om Prakash Shrivastava on Wednesday said the two children were adopted by a California-based couple in June this year through Central Adoption Resources Agency (CARA).

"The American couple has raised a complaint claiming that the children adopted by them revealed, during a post-placement counseling session in the USA, that they had been sexually abused at the Aanchal Shishu Kendra in Rewa," the collector said. He said the adoption center was shut down on Tuesday and its registration was canceled.

"All the inmates in the Kendra were shifted to another center in neighboring Satna (about 60 kms from Rewa)," he added. The case has been handed over to the police for further investigation, Shrivatava said.

"We are investigating the complaint from various angles. Initial investigation suggested that these kids were abused. We are trying to identify the accused," said Rewa superintendent of police Abid Khan. He said police will try to reach out to the children to identify the accused persons.

Officials of the NGO cannot be reached for comments immediately.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)