Bengali woman sells infant over poverty

Kolkatta: At Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, a woman from a deprived family has sold her newborn son for a meagre sum of Rs. 13,000 because of her poverty hindrances that would likely disturb the nourishment of the kid. Gauri Das, the accused woman, already has three daughters and her husband left the family a few months ago.

The only source of income for the entire family of five is the earnings by Gauri's mother through her beggimng. Reportedly, the mother of the accused begs on the streets of Jalpaiguri. The accused claimed that though she has worked for a few days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme, she was never paid for it.

The administration move to and fro into action and traced out the baby, but Gauri denied taking him back. The reason behind her denial is the apprehension of bringing him up. She added that she was willing to take her son back if the government offered her some kind of help. So far, she said, the local administration had provided her with some rice, daal and sugar.

It is learnt from the neighbours of the accused that the family was so poor that on rainy days, when Gauri's mother could not go out to beg, the family went without any food. The infant is currently under the care of the district child welfare committee. The state administration has given Gauri 60 days to change her mind, after which the baby will be given away for espousal.