In a disturbing incident, a 4-year-old girl was rescued by the Badagada police in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar after her parents sold her for Rs 40,000 due to financial distress. Six individuals, including the child’s parents, mediators, and the buyers, have been arrested, police confirmed.
The accused couple, migrant workers from Bihar, reportedly sold their daughter to a childless couple in Pipili. Trupti Ranjan Nayak, the in-charge of Badagada Police Station, stated that the couple had been living as daily laborers under the jurisdiction of Badagada.
Badagada Police acted swiftly after receiving information from a local resident, Sarthak Mahadik, who reported the incident. “Today morning, we received information from one Sarthak Mahadik that a Bihar couple residing in his home has sold their four-year-old daughter. We have registered a case… The girl has been rescued from a village in the Pipili area. Six people have been detained, and interrogation is ongoing,” said Nayak.
During the investigation, the child’s parents confessed to selling their daughter and named two intermediaries from the Badagada area who facilitated the transaction.
The rescued child is now in safe custody, and authorities are conducting a detailed probe into the illegal activity.