Unable to pay hospital bill, Assam couple sells newborn

Close on the heels of an incident last week where a Tripura tribal couple sold their new born since they were unable bear the expenses of the child, a similar incident has been reported from Assam where a couple in Bongaigaon district has been forced to sell of their newborn baby to pay the hospital bills.

According to the sources, the private hospital authority, where the baby was born, handed them a bill of Rs 29,000 for child delivery.The tribal couple — Sabita Narzary, 20, and her husband Philip, 24, had gone to the  Bongaigaon civil hospital for the delivery of their first child, but the government doctors advised them go to the private hospital.Following the advice, Sabita was admitted in the private hospital and delivered a baby girl through the Caesarian process.

After the delivery, the hospital handed a bill for Rs 29,000 to the couple. Phillip, a daily wage earner, was in no position to pay the bill. Unable to pay the bill, he was suggested to handover the baby to a childless couple from Baksa district, who were willing to pay the hospital bill in exchange of the baby. The desperate couple apparently sold their new born.

As the news of the tragedy spread, the district administration collected the child and she will be kept under the care of the government until the couple takes their child back.