Four arrested for selling newborn girl in Kendrapada

Kendrapada: Police on Saturday arrested four persons in connection with the newborn girl selling incident in Kendrapada district.
Those arrested were identified as Surya Nursing Home proprietor Iftekar Alam, ASHA Annapurna Moharana, sweeper of the nursing home SK Manas and the buyer, SK Shabbington. They have been charged under Sections 317, 109 and 81 of Juvenile Justice Act, informed Kendrapada SP Dayanidhi Gochhayat.
Kendrapada Town police along with Child Welfare Committee (CWC) officials had earlier rescued the newborn from Cuttack Sishu Bhawan, where she was undergoing treatment, basing on a complaint lodged by a couple of Righagarh village under Rajnagar police limits in the district on Friday.
According to the complaint, the ASHA took Gitanjali Maharana to the district headquarters hospital for her delivery. Later, she was shifted to the nursing home on the pretext of better treatment.
Gitanjali gave birth to a baby girl on the night of August 1 and the following morning, the couple was asked to pay Rs 7,500 towards medical expenses. When they expressed their inability to pay the amount, the clinic authorities allegedly sold the baby to another family, it added.