Tripura Govt. denies reports of child being sold by mother

Agartala (Tripura)[India], May 5 (ANI): As the news of a tribal mother selling her son for mere Rs. 200 in remote Gandacherra subdivision of Tripura hit the headlines of national and international media, the state government is trying to hush up the entire episode saying that no such incident took place and it is just a propaganda to defame the Communist government. The Social Welfare and Social Education Minister Bijita Nath alleged that it is just a scandal. She said, "A section of people are spreading rumors about incidents of child selling in Tripura but ultimately we did not find any monetary transaction in this incident. So there is no scope of any child being sold and the system does not allow that and if it is proved then there is provision for severe punishment." According to the Minister, the child was just kept with a distant relative because her stepfather was not willing to keep him. But on the contrary the incident was exposed only after the father had opposed and complained against the mother's decision to sell the child and ultimately the village chief in a kangaroo court had ordered to get back the child. Similar is the version of the Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Gandacherra Jahar Lal Debbarma who reiterated that the child was not sold but accepted that there was a monetary transaction. However, he could not explain that if giving a child against any payment is not selling then what it means. Police has not taken any case against the incident. Meantime, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has raised the issue and criticized the government. They viewed that a sorry state of affairs is going on in Left ruled Tripura and the condition of the tribals are worst. BJP state observer Sunil Deodhar alleged that inspite of the centre giving huge amount for the development of the tribal people the money does not reach them as because of the rampant corruption that is being indulged by Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. Two weeks back in a similar incident a tribal woman sold her 11 day old son for Rs. 5,000 to bear the cost of for treatment of her ailing husband at Rangia Tilla of Haldia ADC village under Teliamura police station in West Tripura. During the last two years at least five incidents of child selling by poor tribal families has been reported from Tripura. (ANI)