In a shocking incident, a 35-year-old woman, who was deserted by her husband and in-laws, allegedly sold her newborn twins to a Shivamogga-based couple for Rs. 20,000 so that she could pay off her hospital bills.
An anganwadi worker helped officials of the Department of Women and Child Development rescue the baby boys, who had been delivered after a caesarean operation.
Both the mother and her sons are now safe, G.M. Sarveshwar, Deputy Director, Women and Child Development, said. Speaking to The Hindu on the phone from Ramanagaram on Friday, he said that the nursing mother would be provided employment and other social security benefits.
Deserted by family
The woman is originally from Makali in Channapatna taluk. She relocated to Basavanahalli near K.R. Pet in Mandya district after her marriage. She has two other children, a daughter and a son. According to sources at the Department of Health and Family Welfare, her husband and in-laws deserted her owing to financial and family disputes. She was pregnant when she relocated to Makali, Mr. Sarveshwar said.
Initially, the woman wanted to abort the babies. However, the doctors refused to do so as delivery date was near. The Government Hospital doctors in Ramanagaram referred her to the Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS) for a caesarean as she was carrying twins. However, she got admitted to a private hospital in Ramanagaram where she delivered the babies. The total hospital expenses exceeded Rs. 20,000.
Help from anganwadi worker
The incident occurred on May 22. However, Manjula, a worker attached to the anganwadi centre in Makali, found out that the woman’s children were missing and alerted the Women and Child Welfare Department. “The information we received helped us rescue the babies,” Mr. Sarveshwar said.
Counselling session
A counselling session was held. Later, the woman contacted the couple and got her babies back. However, she refused to divulge details about the buyers.
According to preliminary investigations, the woman found the couple through another nursing mother at the hospital. “We are trying to trace the persons who paid for the babies,” an activist at the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) said. At present, the babies are with the mother. If she faces any difficulty, the CWC will take care of them, he said.
