The District Administration Office, Kathmandu handed over a six-year-old girl to her biological mother following a row concerning her adoption on Monday night.

A dispute erupted after a complaint was registered with the office against Magalay Menanteaux, a Chilean British woman, who had adopted the girl named Rosa born to a migrant worker out of rape. Menanteaux, however, lost custody over Rosa after Smile Nepal, a children’s organisation run by Nepal Investment Board CEO Radhesh Pant and his wife Anu, filed a complaint in November 2012 claiming that she did not have the legal papers to foster Rosa.

“We handed Rosa to her biological mother after she decided to take her custody,” Chief District Officer Choodamani Sharma told the Post.

The DAO had sought the help of the National Forensic Laboratory for DNA verification to establish the girl’s relationship with the mother. The result proved that the woman was the mother of Rosa.

It is learnt that Rosa was taken to Nepalgunj by her biological mother on Tuesday.

Published on: 17 April 2013 | The Kathmandu Post