A ten-month-old infant who has been traded by his parents to clear their debts was rescued by the child care centre of the Women and Child Welfare Department on Monday morning.
The shocking incident came to light only on Sunday night when the parents of the infant, Kotluri Ramesh and Jayalakshmi, lodged a complaint at the Kothapet police station against a couple, Kalahasti Peraiah and Lakshmi, whom they alleged were about to sell the infant at a higher price than they had paid to get custody of him. They also urged the police to restore their son to their custody.
The police were also shown bond papers signed by both couples that the child was being ‘adopted’ by Peraiah and Lakshmi on July 23, 2012.
An agreement was reached in the presence of elders to hand over the child to the couple on that day.
Peraiah and Lakshmi, who have three daughters and a son, told police that they had adopted the child after clearing the debts of his parents.
A team comprising policemen and members of the Child Welfare Committee and Women and Child Welfare Department rescued the child at Vinukonda.
The child is presently lodged at Sishu Gruha located on the premises of Mahila and Sishu Pranganam.
Project Director, Women and Child Welfare Department, J. Nirmala, said both couples had violated the law and acted in a manner that caused abuse and physical pain to the child.
“It could be that parents of the child have some compelling reasons apart from lack of financial resources to resort to this shocking act. But it is also equally outrageous to exploit this condition and trade children. We have a procedure to adopt a child and the adoption is directly under the supervision of Women and Child Welfare Department,’’ Ms. Nirmala told The Hindu on Monday.
Criminal cases
The CWC which met under the chairmanship of D. Roshan Babu on Monday morning directed the police that criminal cases should be booked against both the couples under Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice Act, which considers abuse and exploitation of children as punishable offences. It also directed the district probation officer to conduct an inquiry and submit a report within a month.
The child would be kept under the observation of trained personnel at the Sishu Vihar until further orders.
