Infuriated parents of nine children claimed that they were aghast to find out that their children were allegedly put in an orphanage and made to labour and denied proper food.
The parents alleged that their children all below twelve years and hailing from Nongthliew village were taken by a pastor called Corming Mawlong in March last year with the promise that he would educate them.
"The pastor had them said besides food and shelter, our children also needed education. We trusted him and handed our children over to him," Paidoris Shabong, a mother of one of the nine children said. "Believing that the pastor would not cheat on us, we never went to see our children. We had thought that on seeing us, the kids might want to come back home because of homesickness," she added.
It was only after eleven months since her child left with Mawlong that Shabong visited her children and realized that they had been put in the orphanage and were all in ill health. "In fact, the pastor had registered the children as orphans," she alleged, asking Holy Jahrin, who was running the orphanage, for permission to take them home.
"But she refused to do so. Jahrin told us that according to the rules of the orphanage, a child has to stay till attaining the age of 14. Since our children are yet to turn 14, they were not be allowed to leave," said Pdianghunlang Khyllait, another aggrieved parent.
According to the parents, orphanage authorities told them that they would have to pay a penalty of Rs 22,000 for each child if they wanted to take them home. The heaviest penalty borne was by Shabong who had to sell off her land and paddy field to cough up Rs 66,000 to regain custody of her three children.
In the meantime, a local youth organization, Synjuk ki Seng Samla Shnong, led by its vice-chairman Christopher Wahlang and accompanied by a group of journalists, paid a surprise visit to the remotely located orphanage to find out the truth. On their arrival, Jahrin went into hiding along with some other men who apparently work at the orphanage, leaving inmates on their own.
Sensing something wrong at the orphanage, the delegation immediately filed a formal complaint with the district social welfare officer at Nongpoh while urging it to launch an inquiry and take necessary action.
Efforts to trace the pastor proved futile as no one seemed to be aware of his whereabouts. The parents have, however, not contacted police.