Karnataka - Mangalore   

Police track down stolen infant

MANGALORE: A team from the Puttur Town police station on Wednesday tracked down a three-month-old infant that had been stolen from its mother and sold to a childless family in Paivalike village of Kasaragod district in Kerala. The child was produced before the District Child Welfare Committee (CWC) the same day.

The child, which was born to a Dalit woman who had allegedly been raped, was stolen from the government hospital in Puttur hours after it was born. According to the CWC, the 18-year-old mother fell unconscious after giving birth. When she regained consciousness, she raised an alarm about her missing child and lodged a police complaint. Rajeshwari, the prime accused in the case who has been charged with stealing the child and selling it to brokers, is an anganwadi worker and a member of the Puttur Taluk Anti-Child and Woman Trafficking Committee. She was supposed to help the mother take care of the infant.

Although the police say that the child was sold for Rs. 20,000, the CWC found from its inquiries that the child had been sold for Rs. 70,000. The recovery of the child has made the case even more complicated. The child’s mother has told the CWC that she did not want to bring up the baby. Geo D’Silva, CWC member, told The Hindu that there was a lot of stigma attached to the child since the mother was not married. The man accused of raping her is also absconding.

To make matters worse, the mother is living in extreme poverty and is unable to bring up the child.

The baby is now in the custody of the CWC. According to procedure, the child has to be in the custody of the CWC for two months. At any time during this period, the mother can change her mind and take back the child, failing which it will be declared “legally free for adoption”.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Out-of-syllabus questions perplex B.Ed. students
Congress protest on Saturday
‘Gurkhas not authorised to keep vigil at night’
Police track down stolen infant
‘People’s audit’ of MSEZ to be conducted on Sunday

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu