Cooch Behar, June 23: A doctor in Dinhata has stopped a woman who was trying to sell her kidney to feed her two children, meet their educational expenses and pay off debts.

Jamuna Roy (30) visited the chamber of a physician attached to Dinhata subdivisional hospital, Ujjal Acharya, yesterday afternoon and told him that she wanted to sell one of her kidneys. She said her husband had deserted her three years ago to live with another woman.

“I was shocked and surprised over the way she approached me and asked me to arrange for the sale of her kidney. Describing her plight, the woman told me that she had no other option but to sell her kidney to ward off her financial liabilities,” the doctor said.

The owner of a shanty at Nigam Nagar, 10km from Dinhata town, Jamuna has two children. Roni (10) is a student of Class IV, while Jonny (7) studies in Class II.

After the husband Haradhan Roy abandoned her, the woman has been eking out a living by making bidis. Jamuna had taken a loan of over Rs 50, 000 from local moneylenders. “I have no other alternative but to sell my kidney. That will help me pay off the debts and meet the educational expenses of my children. I had to stop them from going to the school recently,” Jamuna said.

The woman had knocked on several doors yesterday and ultimately, arrived at the chamber of Acharya in the afternoon. The neighbours whom she had met with pleas for assistance did not come to her help.

Acharya said: “I tried to console the woman and somehow managed to send her back home. I advised her to go to the gram panchayat pradhan for some financial help. I told her that I could also talk to the pradhan, if necessary.”

Outgoing pradhan of the panchayat Govinda Goswami said the woman did not possess a below poverty line card. She did not have voters’ identity card either. “So we could not help her,” Goswami said.

Subdivisional officer of Dinhata Debabrata Chakraborty said he was aware of the woman’s plight.

“If she approaches me, I can take up the matter with the new panchayat,” Chakraborty said.