Humanity Shaken: Parents Sold Baby Girl for ₹20,000, Child Recovered

Odisha(The Uttam Hindu): In a heart-wrenching incident from Odisha’s Bolangir district, a poverty-stricken couple has been accused of handing over their 28-day-old baby girl in exchange for ₹20,000. The case has sparked outrage after reports emerged that the newborn was allegedly sold to another couple from the Paikmal area of Bargarh district.

According to sources, the biological parents, Neela and Kanak Rana of Bagdera village under Titlagarh sub-division, allegedly gave their infant daughter to a couple from another district, reportedly due to extreme financial hardship. While some reports claimed the baby was sold for ₹20,000, both the biological and receiving parents denied any monetary exchange, stating it was done for the better care of the child.

Acting swiftly on the tip-off, the local police along with the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) rescued the baby safely from the Paikmal couple's home and handed her over to the authorities. No arrests have been made yet, as no formal complaint has been registered. However, investigations are underway to determine if the act was voluntary or part of a larger child trafficking network.

Leena Babu, the acting chairperson of Bolangir’s CWC, confirmed the rescue and said that further inquiry will be initiated and an official complaint will be lodged at the local police station.

The accused couple, already parents to multiple children and married for the second time, claimed they gave away the baby not for money but for her better upbringing. The receiving couple echoed similar sentiments, citing compassion as their sole reason.

This is not the first such case from the region. In November 2024, a woman had similarly sold her infant daughter, highlighting a worrying pattern linked to deep-rooted poverty and lack of support. Authorities are now probing whether the case was purely driven by poverty or part of an organized trafficking racket.