'Sale' of children: Government of Odisha initiates inquiry

Bhubaneswar, Nov 20 (PTI) The Odisha government has ordered an inquiry into incidents of alleged sale of two children due to poverty in Rayagada and Bolangir districts, officials said on Wednesday.

One incident, reported from Rayagada district, involves a poor couple allegedly selling their nine-day-old daughter for Rs 20,000 to a couple from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Kumud Ganta (22) and her husband Rahul Dhanbeda (25) are residents of Nuapada Colony under Chandili police limits in Rayagada and have a three-year-old daughter and a newborn at the district headquarters hospital, an official said.

Rahul works as a truck helper with a monthly income of Rs 1,500. According to reports, the couple arranged for a mediator, who facilitated the transaction.

The baby was allegedly sold to the couple from Pedapenki village in Andhra Pradesh's Parvatipuram Manyam district on November 11, sources said.

The incident came to light when local Anganwadi and ASHA workers could not find the infant at Kumud's home and reported the matter to Child Line authorities, the official said.

Nirakar Padhi, a member of the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), said that the initial probe revealed that the child was given to the Andhra couple through a stamped paper agreement.

"Though the original parents denied receiving any money, our inquiry revealed a transaction of Rs 20,000," she said.

"It is against the law to transfer custody of a child through a stamped paper agreement. Appropriate legal action will be taken," District Child Protection Officer Bichitra Sethi said.

A similar case was reported from Khaprakhol block in Bolangir district, where a couple allegedly "gifted their newborn daughter to unidentified persons" because they were unable to afford to raise her due to severe poverty.

Deputy Chief Minister KV Singh Deo, who is from Bolangir, ordered a probe into the alleged sale of the newborn in Sangurjibhata village.

Singh Deo met the child's mother Arunabati Nag on Tuesday.

Arunabati claimed that she had "gifted" her newborn to unknown people because she could not care for six children.

"During our interaction, the mother said that she was unable to raise six children. Thus the family decided to gift the youngest one," Singh Deo said.

The deputy chief minister added, "While a child can be given for adoption, there is a formal procedure that was not followed in this case. Legal action will be taken against those responsible." When contacted, a senior official at the Women and Child Development Department here told PTI, "We have asked the district authorities to inquire into the matter and take immediate measures to bring back the children given to other couples." PTI