Spanish professor adopts abandoned baby in Jalpaiguri
Times of India | 11 March 2025
123 Jalpaiguri: Tinni was abandoned by her mother soon after her birth on Nov 29, 2023. She was sent to the custody of the Child Welfare Committee and had been living there since. On Monday, she got a home of her own.
Yolanda Pena Bouquete, a professor of economics from Santiago in Spain, adopted Tinni as a single mother. The Spanish woman had applied for a baby from the Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA) in Jalpaiguri in April 2020 through the Authorized Foreign Adoption Agency (AFAA).
After SAA considered Bouquete for the adoption, a thorough process was initiated under which she had to meet numerous norms. On Nov 28 last year, a day before Tinni's first birthday, the Central Adoption Resource Authority gave the NOC for the adoption.
On Monday, Jalpaiguri DM Shama Parveen handed Tinni over to Bouquete in the presence of the superintendent of Jalpaiguri SAA, Gautam Das, and Sudip Bhadra, head of the District Child Protection Unit.
AFAA will now keep a strict watch for the next couple of years on how the baby is brought up. Bouquete would lose the right to bring up the baby if AFAA reported something unpleasant in the interim, an official said.
"We are very happy that Tinni got a home. We wish her a very bright future," Parveen said.
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