Agartala: In a heart-wrenching incident in Tripura, police officials successfully rescued a four-month-old baby who had allegedly been sold by his mother for Rs 4,000 due to extreme poverty.
The shocking revelation came to light through a Facebook post by Partha Prathim Majumder, the secretary of the CPI(M)’s Bishalgarh sub-divisional committee. Majumder claimed that a worker from the Basumati Tea Estate in Sepahijala district had resorted to selling her child, citing financial hardship.
According to Majumder, the woman, who is caring for four children on her own, was struggling to provide for her family. The incident prompted local authorities to intervene, with the administration seeking assistance from Child Line services. A team was dispatched to the woman’s residence, a hutment in the tea garden, to investigate the claims.
The rescue operation led officials to a couple in Udaipur, Gomati district, where the baby had been found. Additional Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Bishalgarh, Debjani Chowdhury, confirmed the rescue and noted that the baby was safely returned to his mother on Wednesday night. She clarified, however, that no formal complaint had been filed stating that the mother had sold the child. The woman is believed to be separated from her husband, who works as a tea garden laborer and was reportedly missing during the investigation.
Chowdhury further explained that the woman had been provided a house under the PM Awas Yojana and a family ration card. However, she still resides in a hutment within the tea garden with her four children. The administration has pledged to provide financial and other support to the family to alleviate their circumstances.
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