Two siblings, including a 22-day-old infant boy, who had been allegedly sold by their parents were rescued by police and at least six persons detained here today for their involvement in the episode.
While the 22-day old infant was rescued from a couple residing in Jagatsinghpur, police rescued another boy aged around two years from Mirzapur village in Pipili area of Puri district, police said.
"Police have rescued the children who were allegedly sold by their parents. We are verifying the charges against them," Commissioner of Police R P Sharma told PTI.
He said both the children have been handed over to the Child Welfare Committee after being rescued.
Those detained comprise the biological parents of the boys, the couple who had allegedly adopted the 22-day old boy and two others who arranged the alleged sale, police said.
Meanwhile, Khurda district administration also started an investigation into the incident, official sources said. "We are looking into the matter and examining different aspects," Khurda District Collector Niranjan Sahu told reporters after visiting the place of the children's biological parents.
The matter came to light after a counsellor of a Bhubaneswar-based social organisation lodged a complaint with police yesterday seeking necessary steps to rescue three children allegedly sold by their parents, police said.
The counsellor of Ruchika Childline, Rulina Patra had alleged that a couple who were daily wage earners and lived in a slum here are the biological parents of seven children. While two of their offsprings are dead, three of their sons have been sold to different persons in the past for money.
The complaint claimed that the couple had sold one of their sons to a couple in Kolkata and the other two in Odisha.
The infant boy, their youngest offspring, was allegedly sold for Rs 6,000 to a couple from Samastipur in Bihar staying in Jagatsinghpur of Odisha, the police said, adding another son had allegedly been sold to a person near Pipili two years ago when he was barely 8-day-old.
While both these boys were rescued probe was on to ascertain the allegation about sale of another child to a couple in Kolkata, police said.
Those detained are being interrogated, Assistant Commissioner of Police, P K Rath said.
The biological father of the children has confessed to have handed over the infant to the adoptive family in Jagatsinghpur but refused to say whether there was any monetary transaction in relation to it.
"I am a poor man and unable to feed my children. I handed over one child for proper care," he told reporters here.
