Medininagar (Jharkhand) | A month-old baby boy was allegedly sold by his parents for Rs 50,000 due to poverty, but was rescued on Sunday by Jharkhand Police, a senior officer said.
The action came after Chief Minister Hemant Soren took cognisance of the matter and directed the police to take immediate steps to rescue the boy.
A couple from Lesliganj area in Palamu district allegedly sold their son for Rs 50,000 due to extreme poverty, Lesliganj Circle Officer Sunil Kumar Singh said.
As soon as the matter came to light, the Palamu district administration intervened in the matter and provided 20 kg of foodgrain to the family in Lotwa village, while efforts were underway to enrol them under various welfare schemes, he said.
Speaking to reporters, Ramchandra Ram said he sold his son to a tout couple from a neighbouring village as he did not have money to make ends meet or to treat his wife, Pinki Devi, who has been unwell since the delivery.
"I did not have money for her treatment or to arrange for food," Ram, a daily wage labourer who has been out of work for the last few months due to incessant rain, said.
The middleman couple took the boy to Latehar district after the payment was completed.
"We are homeless and spend nights along with four other children of ours under a dilapidated shed," Ram said.
Ram, who hails from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, has been living in Lotwa for the last one-and-half-decades with his wife, who is a local. They worked as labourers and even begged in the village when they were out of work, official sources said.
They did not have Aadhaar or ration cards and were deprived of the benefits of government schemes, they said.
Pinki Devi said her father had given her a small piece of land, and they had built a hut, which got damaged due to rainfall.
"We were left with no other option but to live under the shed," Ram said.
Pinki Devi had delivered the baby boy under the shed, and since then, she has been sick.
A police team was sent to Latehar to trace the boy, and he was rescued on Sunday, Lesliganj police station officer-in-charge Uttam Kumar Rai said.
Hemant Soren had earlier directed the Palamu deputy commissioner to ensure a proper investigation.
Palamu's Deputy Development Commissioner Javed Hussain said the administration had learnt about the matter from media reports and subsequently took steps to reunite him with his parents.
