A MOTHER SOLD HER NEW BORN FOR USD 22

Poverty and desperation cause a mother of four to sell her new born baby for Rs 1300 (USD 22). Gauri Shah, 32, lives in slum area near the railway in a village in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal together with three children aged three to eight years.

Gauri's husband left her eight months ago when she was pregnant her fourth child. Gauri gave birth on May 25, and after seven days she sold the baby which is still not named as she could not raise her. 

As the news spread fast, the government took immediate action to save the baby. However, she refuses to accept her baby and the authorities had handed it over to a welfare home for a while.

She was reluctant to accept the baby because the family's only source of income comes from her mother, 70 who begs on the streets.Gauri did not even regret her actions but thinks that it was the right decision to save the baby and her three other daughters.

"My husband left me and my three children eight months ago. We depend on the income earned by my mother from begging . I had to borrow Rs100 (USD 1.70) from a neighbor for delivery. How do I raise a child when I do not have the money?" she said.

According to Gauri, a married couple who do not have any child come up and offer 1,300 rupees (USD 22) for the baby. "I accept the offer because there is no other choice," she said. She said she will only take the baby if she received welfare from the government.

Local authorities gave her 60 days to think whether to accept the baby back or they will hand it over to a family for adoption.

Edited by;

Farahhasina