A ten-day-old boy, who was allegedly sold by his drug-addict father for Rs 10,000 in Odisha, was rescued from a woman by members of Childline with the help of police.
The baby was rescued from a woman in Mali Sahi area under Kharvelnagar police station limit in the state capital and kept at an adoption centre, Childline director Benudhar Senapati said.
"The father of the baby is a drug addct. Due to financial constraints, the newborns father forced his wife to dump the baby in a dustbin. But, the mother handed over the child to a woman," Senapati told reporters.
However, the woman who purchased the child said, "They were about to abandon the baby. Since I have no son, I bought the baby for Rs 10,000."
Senapati said, both the buyer and seller of a baby are guilty under provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.
The police said it was inquiring into the matter and all the facts will become clear after the probe is over.
A case has been registered in Kharavela Nagar police station.
The matter came to light after video of a man telling that a woman came to him and his wife and forcibly took away their 10-day-old child after giving them Rs 10,000 came to the notice of the Childline authorities, police said.
"There are many inconsistencies in the versions of both the parties and only a proper investigation will unravel the truth," they said.
Published 19 June 2021, 17:29 IST