A Ranchi court has acquitted Missionaries of Charity nun Sister Concilia and worker Anima Indwar in a high-profile child trafficking case. (Representational)Eight years after their arrest in a child trafficking case that drew national attention, a Ranchi court earlier this week acquitted two Adivasi women, including a nun associated with the Kolkata-based Missionaries of Charity (MoC).Sister Concilia Baxla and Anima Indwar were arrested in 2018 after the state-run Child Welfare Committee (CWC) alleged that a newborn born to an unwed mother had been sold to a couple from Uttar Pradesh through a shelter home run by the Mother Teresa-founded congregation.Their acquittal on June 18 ended a prolonged legal battle that, according to the defence, left deep psychological scars on both women.Baxla is an Adivasi nun associated with the congregation, while Indwar, also an Adivasi, worked part-time as a sanitation worker at Ranchi’s Sadar Hospital and assisted with the organisation’s welfare activities.Defence counsel Anil Kanth denied the allegations, describing the case as politically motivated.“The sisters have been so harassed and tortured by the entire process that they have lost faith in people,” he said.Kanth said both women suffered severe emotional setbacks during the proceedings. Baxla’s health deteriorated significantly and she developed memory-related problems, while Indwar spent years battling the allegations and the social stigma attached to them.Story continues below this adThe case also disrupted several welfare activities run by the congregation, he said.“Many programmes that provided shelter and support to vulnerable women and children were affected in the aftermath of the arrests, with some services eventually being scaled down or discontinued,” he said.The 2018 allegations triggered a backlash and intensified scrutiny of MoC’s child-care and shelter services. For its part, Missionaries of Charity had said it was “shocked”.Following the controversy, then Union Minister Maneka Gandhi directed state governments to ensure that all child-care institutions were registered and linked to the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) within a month.Shubham Tigga is a Correspondent at The Indian Express, presently based in Pune, where he covers the intersections of infrastructure, labor, and the modern economy. His reporting focuses on civil aviation, urban mobility, the gig economy, and workers' unions, providing critical insights into how transit and commercial sectors impact the daily lives of citizens. Expertise & Background Before moving to Pune, he reported extensively from his home state of Chhattisgarh, where he focused on Indigenous (Adivasi) issues, environmental justice, and grassroots struggles in mainland India. This experience gives him a unique lens through which he analyzes the impact of large-scale infrastructure projects on local communities. Academic Foundation He is an alumnus of the prestigious Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), where he honed his skills in investigative reporting and ethical journalism. His academic training, combined with his field experience in Central India, allows him to navigate complex socio-economic landscapes with nuance and accuracy. You can reach out to him on LinkedIn ... Read More Tags:Christian missionaries