India-born German to explore legal options in search for biological mother

Bellevision Media Network

 

Mangalore, 02 Oct 2014: India-born German Chaya Maria Schupp was hopeful of meeting her biological mother thanks to the Karnataka High Court’s directive to the government in March 2013 to provide her all assistance in her long and arduous quest. A year down the line, she’s gradually losing hope.

 

 

Chaya now plans to pursue legal options again so that two institutions responsible for her alleged "kidnapping" are brought to book. The 37-year-old resident of Dieburg, 30km from Frankfurt in southern Germany, was adopted by a German couple when she was about 6 years old under suspicious circumstances. "I’d like to take legal action against the Nirmala Social Welfare Centre, Ullal, Selvam Raj Kennett of Kennett Hospital, Madurai and all other persons involved in my illegal adoption,’’ she said.

 

Chaya has sought assistance from local lawyer Dinesh Hegde Ulepady, who inspected her adoption documents at the Madurai Court on August 23 this year. In 1981, Selvam had filed an application in the Madurai District Court, seeking permission to send Chaya to Germany. In her application Selvam said Chaya, born on March 24, 1976 was abandoned when she was 10 months old in 1977. Chaya says she vividly remembers she was with her mother till 1981 in Ullal and suspects kidnapping. She alleges many children may have been taken away from their biological parents for adoption. "The reason for this adoption racket is money which I can see in my case too. My adoptive parents Wolfgang and Ingrid Schupp paid DM 5000 deutsche marks in 1981,’’ she said.

 

Her search for her biological mother met a deadend in 2009 when authorities at the Nirmala Social Welfare Centre refused to show her the relevant records. Chaya says the police investigation after the 2013 court order has not been satisfactory. Chaya said she was at this centre when she was adopted. The papers at Pro Infante -- a German adoption agency -- clearly show she was under the centre’s care at that time.

 

Though Chaya says she was born a Hindu in Ullal, there’s a certificate of baptism issued by St Sebastian’s Church, Permannur (Ullal) which states she was baptized on January 15, 1980. When Chaya went there, the parish priest said there were no baptism records. Chaya said the baptism may have been done because the German couple wanted a Christian child.

 

The then Ullal inspector Ganapathy had said: "Though Chaya has complained of kidnapping, there was no evidence of it. The incident happened almost two decades ago and there was no complaint from any woman that her daughter was missing or kidnapped. In these circumstances, we cannot register a case of kidnapping.’’