Woman sells off son to release jailed husband

JAJPUR: In a desperate bid to arrange money to get her husband released from jail, a woman in Odisha's Jajpur district allegedly sold off her 17-month-old son for Rs. 5,000, police said in Jajpur, Odisha on Sunday. Rakhi Patra (20) of Mundamal village went to Cuttack on September 13 and handed the baby boy over to a person belonging to Jagatsinghpur, inspector-in-charge Aswini Kumar Sahu said. After getting information about the incident, her mother-in-law Kanakalata Patra filed an FIR on September 21 alleging that Rakhi had sold off the child to an unknown person, he said. "Yes, I have given my son to a person of Jagatsinghur as I needed money to get my husband released from jail", police quoted the woman as saying. Rakhi's husband Manoj Patra was arrested in a theft case and is an under trial prisoner (UTP) in the jail at Bagadi in Jajpur district since July 2, Sahu said. The couple are daily wage earners. The woman has been sent to a short-stay home for women at Jajpur as her in-laws did not allow her to stay in their home and parents were absconding after the incident. Efforts were also on to trace the child. district collector Anil Samal said he was aware of the incident and asked Tehsildar of Vyasnagar, Diptirani Sahu to inquire into the matter and submit a report soon. "Yes, it has come to my notice and it appears to be true", he said.