A 35-year-old widow allegedly sold off her three-month-old male child for an amount as meager as Rs 6,500 to a couple here who had longed for a male progeny in Nayapalli area in the heart of the city.
The woman whose husband died about six months back has a minor daughter. Financial crisis might have forced to sell the baby as she found it tough for the upkeep of two children.
Acting on a complaint lodged by Childline, the child was rescued and the buyer was arrested, police said.
Based on the complaint, the child’s mother was traced. Later on questioning, she revealed the identity of the buyer.
Incidentally, the buyer, father of a girl child, to escape arrest had executed a notarized affidavit. However the affidavit of this nature is out and out illegal under juvenile justice and adoption act.
The administration will cover the destitute woman under government-sponsored social security schemes. The woman has been provided with immediate financial assistance of Rs 2,000 from Mo Sarkar funds. Steps are also being taken to shift the mother, her daughter and the rescued child to a short-stay home, said officials.
The Child Welfare Committee has begun an inquiry into the alleged child sale incident. At least six cases of child selling were reported in the State in the past one year. It was abject poverty that had forced the parents to part with their offspring on monetary consideration, said Childline activists.