4-month-old baby rescued following allegation that his mother sold him for Rs 4,000 in Tripura

Agartala: A four-month-old baby boy was rescued in Tripura following allegations that he was sold by his mother for Rs 4,000 due to extreme poverty.

The incident came to light after CPI(M)'s Bishalgarh sub-divisional committee secretary Partha Prathim Majumder in a Facebook post alleged that a worker of the Basumati Tea Estate in Sepahijala district sold her baby for Rs 4,000 due to extreme poverty.

He claimed that the woman has four children and she alone is taking care of them.

As the post went viral, the administration swung into action with the help of the child line, and sent personnel to the hutment where the woman lives, officials said.

During the course of the investigation, the baby was found with a couple from Udaipur in Gomati district, they said.

"We rescued the child and returned him to his mother on Wednesday night. The administration has not received any complaint that the child was sold by his mother. It appears the woman is separated from his husband who is also a tea garden labourer. It is also true that her husband was missing when our team visited the place," Additional SDM of Bishalgarh Debjani Chowdhury told PTI.

She said the woman's family received a house under PM Awas Yojana, besides a family ration card, but she lives in the hutment inside the tea garden with her four children.

"We will extend financial and other support to the woman," she said.