In a shocking incident, an unidentified person made a vain bid to sell a male infant for Rs.2,500 at the busy Vijayawada Railway Station on Monday. The sanitation staff, who noticed this, alerted the police and the government officials.
According to sources, the accused brought the baby to the railway station at around 5 a.m. and kept it on platform. He reportedly asked a few persons to take the baby by paying the amount.
The sanitation staff, who observed the absence of mother near the baby, waited for some time and questioned him. When the accused gave incoherent answers, they informed the Childline staff, who did not respond.
Later, the staff and the public alerted the Government Railway Police (GRP), who informed the Women Development and Child Welfare (WD&CW) officials. The officials rescued the baby and shifted it to Government Hospital for examination. The police were in the process of finding the details related to the baby and the accused who was in an inebriated condition and was not responding to queries.
“We received information about the alleged sale of baby at around 10.30 a.m. Child Protection Officer Y. Johnson and Outreach Worker G. Prema Latha rescued the baby, who is healthy,” said District Child Protection Officer Ch. Vijay Kumar.
“When the hungry baby was crying, we requested a woman to feed the baby. On hearing the cries of the baby the staff responded. The mouth of the baby was dried up as there was no feed for about six hours. The accused acted inhumanly. We thanked the mother who fed the infant,” said Mr. Johnson.
“The baby would be shifted to the government-run Sishu Gruha once discharged from the hospital. Based on the District Probation Officer (DPO), Police and WD&CW inquiry, we will try to restore the baby to biological parents, if available,” said Krishna District WD&CW Project Director K. Krishna Kumari.
