Ranchi, Oct 8 (PTI) Two male newborns, less than a month old, were allegedly sold in Jharkhand’s Gumla district and later recovered safely, officials said on Wednesday.
An FIR has been lodged against seven people allegedly involved in the illegal act, police said. Five have been identified, while two remain unknown.
Deputy Commissioner Prerna Dixit has directed officials to probe the matter, which came to light on Sunday.
“The two newborns were sold to two parties. One baby was recovered from Ranchi and the other from Gumla,” Sandeep Kumar Yadav, officer-in-charge of Raidih police station, told PTI.
He said preliminary investigations suggest the case is related to illegal adoption, as prescribed procedures under adoption law were not followed, with health functionaries allegedly convincing the parents to hand over the infants.
He said an FIR has been lodged on Tuesday against seven persons who were allegedly involved in buying and selling of the newborns, adding that five of them have been identified and two are unknown.
Yadav said police have started an investigation.
Gumla civil surgeon Shambhu Nath Choudhary said investigations revealed the involvement of Community Health Officer of Bansdih in Raidih, Parwati Devi, a sahiya of Sankh More, and block team trainer (BTT-Rural), Suman Kujur.
“A transaction of Rs 1 lakh was found in each case between them and the parties involved. All three have been dismissed from service after they confessed to their involvement before a panel led by the Sub-Divisional Officer,” he added.
Choudhary said the infants were handed over to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Gumla.
“One baby was delivered at the Community Health Centre in Raidih, Gumla, while the other was born to an unmarried woman at a private hospital in Loro Ghati, Chhattisgarh. The mother later contacted the Block Tribal Welfare Officer and sold the baby,” Choudhary claimed.
CWC chairperson Nemhanti Tigga said the two newborns are medically fit.
She said the family members will be invited by the CWC, and further action will be taken as per the law. PTI RPS NAM MNB
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