A poor woman of Sambalpur, Sabita Behera, allegedly sold her 11-day-old boy to a couple Sheikh Adijur Rehman and Sajda Rehman from Jajpur Road for just Rs2,000 and a sack of rice.
The mother said she handed over her offspring to a well-off family as she was not in a position to feed him. Following Sabita’s statement, the district administration has asked her to submit a surrender deed before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) on Thursday mentioning that she didn’t have any right over the child. Subsequent to furnishing of the deed, the child can be adopted as per the adoption provisions, said District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Suchismita Patnaik.
On the other hand, legal action has been initiated against Adijur, Sajda and a middleman for taking the baby without fulfilling the legal formalities. According to sources, the baby is to be shifted to a city-based centre, Rukmini lath Bal Niketan, for proper care. And Collector Balbant Singh has directed the officials to probe into Sabita’s financial status.