10-day-old infant sold for ₹10,000 by poor Odisha couple rescued: Cop

Odisha: The 42-year-old woman who bought the infant on June 14 has been arrested on charges of illegal adoption and buying a child. She has been sent to jail and the infant to a childcare home.

Published on: Jun 19, 2021, 23:05:30 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: An infant bought by a 42-year-old childless rag picker for ₹10,000 from its parents, also rag pickers, has been rescued by the police and a non-profit in Odisha capital Bhubaneswar, people familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

Odisha: Arun Kumar Swain, inspector in-charge of the Kharvel Nagar police station, said the police rescued the baby on a tip off from the NGO. (ANI)

The 10-day-old boy has been sent to Subhadra Mahatab Seva Sadan, a special adoption agency for rehabilitation in Bhubaneswar.

The woman who bought the infant on June 14 has been arrested on charges of illegal adoption and buying a child. Police said they are yet to trace the biological parents who are missing.

“The biological parents wanted to sell this baby as they had no money to survive on the streets,” said Benudhar Senapati of Childline, the NGO that was first tipped off about the baby’s sale. Senapati said their initial inquiries have led them to believe that the father may have driven the deal to feed his addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Arun Kumar Swain, inspector in-charge of the Kharvel Nagar police station, said the police rescued the baby on a tip off from the NGO.

“The nomadic couple who sold their child are rag pickers. The woman, Sumedin Bibi, who bought the baby is also into ragpicking and knew about the birth. As she was childless, she asked the couple to give her the child. The child’s father asked for ₹10,000 which she paid at her home at Malisahi,” said inspector Swain.

Stories of child sale are not uncommon in Odisha, once infamous for its poverty in 80s and 90s as scores of poverty-ridden families sold off their sons and daughters to well-off families unable to feed them. Western Odisha districts like Kalahandi and Bolangir are replete with examples of child sale. In 1985, the sale of 2-year-old tribal girl Banita to a blind man for as little as ₹40 and a saree by her sister-in-law Phanas Punji brought the poverty of the state into the limelight. Though Odisha’s per capita income has risen sharply from what it was back then, its real per capita income has consistently remained below the national average.

In October last year, police in Sambalpur district rescued a one-month-old girl from a couple who had allegedly bought her from an impoverished couple for ₹15,000.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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