Odisha Police have rescued a two-and-a-half-year-old boy who was allegedly sold by his father to another man for Rs 1 lakh, officials said on Sunday.
Both the seller and the buyer have been detained by the authorities following the incident.
The incident, which occurred in Barisahi village within the Nilgiri Notified Area Council, came to light after a video purportedly showing the father bargaining with a potential buyer went viral on social media.
A local activist subsequently lodged a formal complaint at the Nilgiri police station; however, the authenticity of the viral video could not be independently verified.
“The baby was rescued from Chiminibhati area and handed over to the child welfare committee. Further investigation is underway,” Nilgiri Sub-divisional Police Officer Pramod Kumar Mallick said, adding police have detained two persons in this connection.
Police identified the father as Rakesh Kumar Behera, alias Kua, a mason by profession, who allegedly received Rs 50,000 as the initial instalment of the deal.
Behera claimed that acute financial hardship drove him to the decision. “We have four children and are facing difficulty in raising them. A known person arranged the buyer, and I handed over the baby,” he told reporters.
According to police sources, Behera has married twice, and the child involved in the transaction was born to his second wife, who was reportedly living separately from him.
