The police today prevented a three-month-old baby from being sold by his mother who claimed she was forced to take the decision because of abject poverty.
Lakshmi Hanri, a resident of Dhadka-Tapsi Babamandir under North Asansol police station, told reporters that she was unable to feed her three other children, aged between 10 and 12, after her husband Santosh Hanri, a day labourer, left them.
She said she entered into an agreement with a tea trader yesterday to sell the baby boy, Debdas Hanri, for Rs 21,000 and took Rs 1,000 in advance from him.
Asansol Sub-divisional Officer Amitabha Das said this morning the police visited the shanty where Lakshmi and her children lived and got the malnourished baby and her mother admitted to the Asansol Sub-Divisional Hospital.
The SDO said the police was exploring if the family could be provided with BPL ration card.
