Odisha: Poor couple sells newborn to cover delivery charges at private clinic

In a shocking incident, a newborn girl was recently sold for paying the delivery fee at a private clinic in Odisha’s Kendrapara town, reports said. 

The poor parents reportedly sold their newborn at only Rs 7,500 for paying the medical expenses for delivery at the nursing home.

Nirakar Moharana of Righagarh village under Rajanagar block had taken her pregnant wife Gitanjali Moharana to Kendrapara district headquarters hospital where the doctors referred the patient to be admitted to Surya Nursing Home for delivery. Gitanjali delivered a baby girl at the clinic on August 1. However, the clinic authority demanded the couple to pay Rs 7,500 towards medical expenses.

When the poor couple expressed their helplessness to pay the medical charges, the clinic staff had arranged a buyer for selling the baby girl. Finally, the baby was sold at Rs 7,500 and the buyer took away the newborn with him paying few cash (Rs 500 to Niarakar and Rs 1,000 to Gitanjali). 

The couple were later reported clarifying to fellow villagers, that were forced to sell their baby due to pressure mounted on them by the clinic authority to pay the delivery expenses. They confessed the selling of their child out of poverty. As the couple already has two daughters, they expressed their inability to bear expenses of raising another daughter.