A couple in Odisha's Balasore allegedly sold their 9-day-old baby boy to a childless couple in neighbouring Mayurbhanj district. The police on Sunday informed that the couple sell their baby due to poverty. The case was reported when locals could not find the nine-day-old baby in the home of Dharmu Behera and his wife Shantilata in Hadamouda village under the Basta Police Station limits. Neighbours informed the authorities.
Child was born on December 19
Shantilata gave birth to a baby boy at Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital at Baripada on December 19. She was discharged three days later. However, the newborn did not reach home. Villagers suspected that the couple sold the baby through a middleman due to "poverty", the officer said.
Based on the complaint by the villagers, a joint investigation was initiated by the police and the Child Welfare Committee, Mayurbhanj.
The baby was rescued on Saturday from the possession of a childless couple in Manicha village under the Sainkola block in Mayurbhanj district, official said.
Both Shantilata and the family from where the baby was rescued denied the allegation of any sale or purchase of the newborn. Shantilata and Dharmu claimed to have donated the baby to the childless couple.
Similar case was reported last month
A similar case was reported in November in Odisha's Bolangir district. In this case a newborn was allegedly sold by her parents due to poverty to a private hospital in Chhattisgarh's Raipur.
The baby was handed over to a couple, Abha Mittal and Raj Kumar Mittal from Raipur.
In another case, a newborn, sold by her parents for Rs 20,000 in Rayagada district, was rescued from neighboring Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday. Both of these incidents were reported in just a week.
“The couple – aged 25 and 22 – already have a two-year-old girl child, and had another baby girl on November 3. Unable to raise another girl because of poverty, they decided to hand over the newborn to a couple in Andhra Pradesh,” told a senior officer.
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(With PTI inputs)
