4 months after sale, infant still in Bathinda orphanage; mother in jail

Almost four months after an alleged drug-addict couple from Akbarpur Khudal village near Bareta sold their five-month-old son to a couple in Budhlada, which eventually led to the arrest of four persons on charges of human trafficking, the child is still living in an orphanage at Nathana village in Bathinda.

While the child’s biological father was granted bail last month, his mother is still in judicial custody, the police said. Meanwhile, those who had “bought” him for Rs 1.8 lakh were granted bail in November last year.

District Child Protection Officer Harjinder Kaur said, “The child is living in an orphanage and is hale and hearty. We keep visiting the orphanage to check on the well-being of all the children there. The custody of this child can only be given to the biological parents once they complete the legal formalities, including obtaining medical fitness certificates. However, I am told that the child’s mother is still in jail.”

Some village residents said the child’s father was earlier seen working in the fields with his father, but they declined to comment further.

The complainant, the infant’s maternal aunt, had alleged at the time of the incident in October last year that those who “bought” the child used to supply drugs to her sister, a former state-level wrestler, and her brother-in-law. “My sister and her husband used to visit the couple who bought their child, and they would supply them ‘chitta’ (heroin). When they realised that my sister and her husband could not live without ‘chitta’, they offered them drugs and money. Under the influence of drugs, they sold their son for Rs 1.8 lakh and even went to an advocate to sign a document,” the complainant had earlier told The Tribune.

Gulzar Singh, the infant’s grandfather, who owns 3.5 acres of land along with his elder brother and used to run a tyre repair shop, said, “My son got hooked on drugs through his mother, who now lives in Boha, and later dragged his wife into it. My daughter-in-law was once a state-level wrestler with a strong physique, but now, at just 19 years, she is frail and unrecognisable. The duo sold everything in the house, door frames, a washing machine and even a table they had bought after selling the child, to purchase ‘chitta’ (heroin).”

During probe, it emerged that the Budhlada couple had tried to follow the legal adoption process, but the formalities were not completed. They were also reportedly yearning for a son, and already had four daughters.