Poverty hit Tripura couple sold newborn at Rs 5000

 Tripura administration has rocked with the recovery of a one-month-old child from a village of Unokoti district who had allegedly been sold by the parents due to poverty in the family.

This is the third such incident reported in the state in the last one year, which embarrassed the government.

The state government has sought a detailed report from the district magistrate to unearth the truth. However, state cabinet’s spokesperson education minister Ratan Lal Nath claimed that the statement of the parents regarding poverty was might not be fact. There might have some other reasons behind handing over the child to another couple.

“Tripura has not faced such a situation that parents sold the child for survival,” Nath stated.

The authorities of Tripura State, Child Protection Commission on Monday rescued a baby who was reported to have been sold by his parents to a childless couple about a fortnight ago from Gaurnagar village of Kailashahar.

According to reports, Swapan Balmiki Das of Dhatucherra of Kailashahar had sold his month old son to childless couple Anufa Begam and Sohel Alam of Kailashahar against the payment of Rs 5,000 cash and four sarees. The baby was born to the poverty-stricken Balmiki family on January 13 this year. He was the fourth child in the family.

Swapan Balmiki a daily wage earner told media that they found it hard to have one more child in the family and he decided to ‘sell’ his child to a well-off couple for some immediate cash and a bright future. The cash was needed to overcome the medication expenses of his wife who was still undergoing the health complications of post-pregnancy.

Swapan said the decision of selling the new-born was reached to Anufa Begum’s mother Sefarena Bibi; a resident of the adjoining village and she had conveyed their willingness to accept the boy. Her son Anufa had got married to Sohel for the last eight years but they did not have any child even after undergoing expensive treatment.

The deal was finalised mutually and the newborn boy was brought to their home on February 14 last.

After 16 days ChildLine authorities were alerted about the ‘sale’ and they started an inquiry. It was then the Tripura State Child Protection Commission representative Bilkis Jahan along with ChildLine members and police reached the house of Swapan to confirm the incident.

Swapan confessed that he had; indeed, sold his child as for cash he had no other choice. For the last one and half years or so Swapan failed to secure a permanent job for him. Earlier, he used to work for the forest department but for some time the department stopped the work and he was left jobless, Swapan told the team adding that he had no other choice to make for a better future of the child.

Anufa Begum also confirmed before the team that it was not her child and she brought the child after she came to know about Swapan from her mother.