15-Day-Old Baby Sold by Father in Hailakandi, Rescued in Kabuganj

A 15-day-old baby boy who was allegedly sold by his own father for Rs. 25,000 in Hailakandi’s Bandukamara has been safely rescued by the Child Helpline Unit of Cachar. The rescue operation took place in Kabuganj and was carried out with the help of the Dholai Police.

The rescue team, led by Supervisor Debashis Dey and Ratnadeep Deb of the Cachar Child Helpline, acted on information received from their counterparts in Hailakandi. The operation was conducted under the direction of Cachar CHL Coordinator Pritam Kairi.

“From our Hailakandi unit, we received information about the incident of a man allegedly selling his own infant child,” said Debashis Dey. “With support from Dholai Police, we carried out a rescue operation and were successful yesterday.”

The baby was found in the home of a couple in Kabuganj. Although the couple denied buying the child, they failed to show any legal documents to prove the adoption was done properly. They also insisted there was no exchange of money. However, as per Debashis Dey, the handover was done without any legal process, making it unlawful.

The biological father, Abdur Rauff Laskar from Bandukmara village in Hailakandi district, has now been arrested. He is known to be a habitual gambler, involved in teer lottery and other illegal activities. Locals said that he had earlier lost his house due to gambling and was living with his in-laws.

The incident came to light on the morning of June 23, when villagers reported that Abdur Rauff had allegedly sold his newborn son the night before. Despite people pleading with him not to go through with it, he reportedly said it was his child and he could do what he wanted.