Mamata Banerjee backs Missionaries of Charity, blames BJP

Kolkata, July 12: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday backed 'Missionaries of Charity', saying malicious attempts to malign their name. The charity is accused of involvement in child trafficking. Also, Mamata Banerjee put he blame on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for targeting the Sisters.

Mamata Banerjee tweeted, " Mother Teresa herself set up Missionaries of Charity. And now they are also not being spared. Malicious attempts to malign their name. The Sisters are being targeted. #BJP want to spare no one. Highly condemnable. Let MOC continue to do their work for the poorest of the poor."

Police rescued one more child, allegedly sold by a Ranchi shelter home run by Missionaries of Charity, from Jharkhand's Simdega district, taking the total number of rescued children to three.

The 'racket' came to light after a woman employee and the in-charge of the local Nirmal Hriday were arrested on the charge of selling a child born to a minor inmate of the shelter home earlier this month. The arrests were made following a complaint by Rupa Verma, the chairperson of Ranchi Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

A couple from Uttar Pradesh had approached Verma, saying that the Nirmal Hriday took away a child they had been given in May against a payment of Rs 1.2 lakh.

(With PTI inputs)