The Goalpara district police of Assam on Wednesday arrested two persons in connection with an alleged selling of twin babies.
The police have arrested Kushal Talukdar, the father of the twins, who is a government employee and Ronuka Kalita, a mid-day meal cook, who acted as the broker.
Talukdar is an employee of the education department and a resident of Dolgoma under Matia Police Station.
Mid-day meal cook Ronuka Kalita works at a school near Dolgoma.
“We have arrested both the persons in connection with the case No. 454/19 under IPC Sections 372/373/211 and Sections 80/81 of Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children act 2015,” said Amitava Basumatary, additional superintendent of police, Goalpara on Thursday.
“They were produced before the court and the court sent both of them to the judicial custody. We are inquiring into the other aspects of the case,” Basumatary added.
According to information, Rupa, Kushal Talukdar’s wife, gave birth to twins, both male, on June 19 at a private hospital in Goalpara town.
The couple already has a baby of one-and-six-months old.
As per previous arrangement, one baby was handed over to a childless couple of Guwahati city who was in contact with the family through the broker, Ronuka Kalita since Rupa was six months’ pregnant.
The second baby was handed over to a couple of Lakhipur town in West Goalpara.
Reportedly, Ronuka Kalita admitted that she herself had handed over the baby to the couple, whose residence is located 46 km away from the Goalpara town.
It is suspected that a deal was made in exchange of huge amount of money in the case.
The matter came to light when a local youth near the residence of Kushal Talukdar, who donated blood for Kushal’s wife, came to know about the delivery of the babies and their subsequent selling.
“I was shocked to learn this because I was told that Rupa has undergone a surgical operation and urgently needed blood,” said the youth on condition of anonymity.
Smitten by conscience, the same youth in the third week of July filed a complaint at the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) office.
“We immediately began an investigation and confirmed after visiting the hospital concerned and by questioning Kushal Deka,” said Pranati Nath, institutional care protection officer of DCPU.
“We ordered them to surrender the babies before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) as soon as possible,” added Nath.
Both the babies were accordingly surrendered by the two families to the CWC in presence of their biological parents on July 22.
The CWC in return placed them under the Bongaigaon district-based state adoption authority designated home.
“We have placed the babies for the next 60 days as per the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children Act 2015 and if not reclaimed by the biological parents within this period, they will be declared as free for adoption,” informed advocate Sohidur Rahman, member of Goalpara CWC.
The sections which are levelled against the accused, if proved, may lead them to an imprisonment up to ten years.