Newborn girl in Odisha sold for ₹7,000; rescued by police

The child’s parents sold her to a childless couple due to poverty. Police said the infant will be handed over to her natural parents after due process

Published on: Jul 1, 2022, 20:24:36 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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The police in Odisha’s Jajpur district on Friday rescued a one-and-a-half-month-old girl from a couple who allegedly bought her from an impoverished couple for ₹7,000, officials said.

The newborn girl was sold off by her parents last month and it came to light after local anganwadi workers tipped off the child development project officer. (Representative Image)

The police rescued the girl child from the childless couple in Barina village under Champeipal grampanchayat following a complaint by an anganwadi worker and the child development project officer in Dasrathpur block of Jajpur district.

A case under Section 317 (abandoning child) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 81 (sale of children) of the Juvenile Justice Act has been lodged against the parents of the child as well as the couple who allegedly bought her.

“The parents of the infant sold her off last month and it came to light after local anganwadi workers tipped off the child development project officer. The infant’s parents are daily labourers and already got two girls. They allegedly sold the third child due to poverty,” said district child protection officer Niranjan Kar. “Though the parents of the child claimed that the couple who have taken the baby are related to them, we did not find it to be the case during investigation. The infant has been rescued and will be handed over to her natural parents after due process.”

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. Though Odisha’s per capita income has jumped from what it was in 1999-2000 to ₹1.27 lakh in 20121-22, cases of child sale still continue to pour in.

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