Girl child sale: Rayagada CWC chairperson among 5 suspended in Odisha

A child sale incident has led to the suspension of five officials on Monday, including the chairperson of the Rayagada Child Welfare Committee (CWC), allegedly after a nine-day-old baby girl was illegally given away to a couple in Andhra Pradesh for Rs 20,000.

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For alleged dereliction of duty, five individuals—including chairperson of the CWC Bidyutlata Huika—have been suspended by the Women and Child Development (W&CD) department for their negligence linked to the illegal sale of the baby girl.

Sold to couple in Andhra Pradesh

The incident dates back to November last year when the nine-day-old child from Nuapada Colony in Chandili locality under Rayagada Sadar block was allegedly sold to a couple in Parvathipuram, Andhra Pradesh. The baby was handed over under an unregistered foster care deed, which lacked any legal authorisation.

An investigation led by the Rayagada Sub-Collector revealed that the CWC had failed in its responsibilities, as the girl child’s transfer was neither properly documented nor lawfully approved.

Based on the findings of the inquiry report, the Department has dismissed the chairperson along with four other individuals involved in the process.

“Based on an inquiry that found the chairperson and four members of Rayagada CWC guilty, the State government has suspended all of them. They were aware of the incident but had neglected their duties,” Rayagada ADM, Nihar Ranjan Kanhar said.

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Notably, the probe into the complaint was conducted by a committee led by Rayagada Sub-Collector. Subsequently, its report was sent to the Odisha Government.