Balasore: A couple in Odisha’s Balasore district allegedly sold their newborn boy to a childless couple in neighbouring Mayurbhanj district, police said Sunday.
The matter came to light when locals could not find the nine-day-old baby in the home of Dharmu Behera and his wife Shantilata in Hadamouda village under the Basta police limits, an officer said.
Shantilata gave birth to a baby boy at Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital at Baripada December 19 and she was discharged three days later.
When villagers did not find the newborn in their home, they suspected that the couple sold the baby through a middleman due to “poverty”, the officer said.
Based on a complaint, a joint investigation was initiated by the police and the Child Welfare Committee, Mayurbhanj.
The baby was rescued Saturday from the possession of a childless couple in Manicha village under the Sainkola block in Mayurbhanj district, he said.
Both Shantilata and the family from where the baby was rescued denied the allegation of any sale or purchase of the newborn.
Shantilata and Dharmu claimed to have donated the baby to the childless couple.
PTI
