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Odisha, India
In a shocking development from the eastern Indian state of Odisha, a woman sold her eight-month-old daughter for $9 (INR 800) as she was not financially able to raise her. “I had sold my child for Rs 800 due to my inability to raise her,” the woman was quoted as saying by OdishaTV. The woman, named Karami Murmu, hails from Mahulia village in Khunta. Fortunately, the baby was rescued after her husband filed a complaint with the authorities.
As reported by local media, her husband Mushu is employed far away in southern state Tamil Nadu and remains away from home for long stretches. The couple has two daughters, one of which was just eight-month-old.
When Mushu recently came back from Tamil Nadu, he couldn’t find his younger daughter at home. He subsequently filed a missing FIR at the nearest police station.
“I don’t know why my wife sold the baby. When I came home, I found her missing. Though I searched her, I could not locate her. Later, I lodged a police complaint,” Mushu said in a statement.
Girl found living with another woman
A police investigation later revealed that the baby was living with another woman named Phulamani Marandi. Marandi somehow came to know about Karami’s intentions to sell off her second daughter and then contacted her.
“I had purchased the child by paying Rs 800 a month back. When I learnt that the woman was selling the child, I decided to go ahead as I am issueless,” said Phulamani Marandi.
Watch: Discovering Odisha - India's Best Kept Secret
Police have taken four people in custody, along with the woman who bought the child. The girl child was rescued and handed over to her grandmother in the presence of the Child Welfare Committee.
Similar cases happened earlier
A similar incident emerged in the state in 2021 when a man sold her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to repay a loan of around INR 5,000 in Odisha's Jajpur district.
Also read: Odisha train crash: Faulty signal connections caused deadly accident, finds CRS probe
The case came to light after the minor girl’s grandfather Rabindra Barik lodged an FIR against his son and the person who bought the child.
The kid was later rescued by police and produced before the child welfare committee.
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