Mansa villagers relieved as drug-addict couple who sold child arrested

Akbarpur Khudal, a nondescript village barely 4 km from Bareta town in Mansa district, is breathing a sigh of relief today. Not just the residents, but even the family members of the alleged drug-addict couple who “sold” their five-month-old son to a Budhlada-based family last month say they finally feel unburdened.

Earlier in the day, the Bareta police booked four persons —the alleged drug-addict parents and the couple who “bought” the infant in the guise of adoption — on the charge of human trafficking under Section 143 of the BNS.

Three of the accused have been arrested, while the woman from Budhlada is absconding. The accused were produced in a court, which sent them to two-day police custody. Officials said the infant had been shifted to an orphanage at Nathana village in Bathinda.

“For long, the couple’s presence had been a blot on this otherwise peaceful village, which takes pride in being blessed by the visit of Guru Gobind Singh ji. Nobody here consumes intoxicants. It was only because of the duo that Akbarpur Khudal couldn’t be declared drug-free,” said Satar Ali, the husband of village sarpanch Parveen Ali, echoing a widely shared sentiment.

The infant’s grandfather, who runs a tyre repair shop, said his son and daughter-in-law sold everything they could lay their hands on to fulfil their ‘chitta’ (heroin) craving. “They sold two door frames, a washing machine and even a table they bought after selling the child,” he said, his voice choking with emotion.

“My son picked the drug habit from his mother, who now lives separately in Boha, and later dragged his wife into it. My daughter-in-law was once a state-level wrestler with a strong build but, at just 19, she is now frail and unrecognisable…. I am thankful to the police. Had my grandson stayed with them, he wouldn’t have survived,” he said, seated amid rusted tools in his modest shop’s courtyard.

The grandfather and his elder brother said despite owning about four acres of land, they were forced to buy wheat flour from market as they were unable to store anything safely at home. “We are over 60 and still working in the fields, repairing tyres, cooking food, doing everything,” the duo said. The elder brother still carries the memory of an arm broken by his nephew. “He fractured my arm when I asked him to mend his ways a year ago. We will not go for their bail,” he said.

At the village entrance, a group of men playing cards at the ‘sath’ (common sitting area) recalled how detached the couple was from their child. “They were consumed by ‘chitta’ and showed no affection for their child. Their actions have shamed our village where people from all communities and faiths live in harmony,” said one of them.

The Budhlada man, who had been caring for the infant for a month, had been raising four daughters of his own and three of his brother, whose first wife is in jail in a murder case. “Together, the couple was raising seven girls and longed for a son,” said a police officer.

District Child Protection Officer Harjinder Kaur said, “It was an emotional scene when the child was separated from the family that had been caring for him for the past month. However, as the adoption was done on a plain paper and not legally, action was unavoidable.” The Punjab State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has sought a report from the Mansa police by October 31.