He was found by anganwadi worker Jayanti Khara who provided him food and care after knowing his plight.
In a shocking incident, a nine-year-old boy was allegedly sold off by his parents in Telegebecha village under Kianga panchayat in Mathili block here. The incident came to fore on Saturday when villagers informed the block administration about the boy, identified as Basudev Bhumia. Locals said Basudev’s parents wanted to separate and remarry but the boy was a burden for them. The couple allegedly sold him off to a villager to restart their lives by marrying their paramours. But for Basudev, his new home was a nightmare. His ‘owners’ took him out of school and forced him into cow herding. Basudev was given food only when he completed his quota of daily chores.
Unable to bear the torture, Basudev ran off to the nearby anganwadi centre. He was found by anganwadi worker Jayanti Khara who provided him food and care after knowing his plight. However three days later, the persons who had ‘bought’ Basudev came to know about his whereabouts. They reached the anganwadi centre and entered into a heated exchange with Jayanti for illegally keeping the boy hostage. However, villagers came to Jayanti’s rescue and informed the local administration.
On Sunday, Mathili block development officer (BDO) Ashish Kumar Bhoi and other officials reached the village and conducted an inquiry. Bhoi, however, denied the allegation of the boy’s sale. “We visited the village and verified that there was no money transaction and the boy was not sold. The boy’s father Sukra Bhumia was in jail. On returning home after his release, he found that his wife had remarried. Later, the boy’s father also remarried. Sukar’s two kids, including Basudev, were being tortured by his second wife,” he said. Both the kids were handed over to the childline on Monday, the BDO added.
Prasanta Patnaik