Bhubaneswar, Oct. 14: The four-year-old child, who was rescued by members of Childline from Kalarahanga on the city outskirts on Monday, will be handed over to her father and grandparents.
The child made headlines earlier this week after she was found alone in a locked house at Kalarahanga.
Officials of Childline rescued the girl after they were informed about her plight by neighbours.
In the absence of a baby-sitter, the girl's mother used to leave the child locked in the house while she went out on work.
The Child Welfare Committee had refused to hand over custody of the child to the mother till they physically verified that adequate measures were in place to take care of the four-year-old.
Today, the child's father submitted a copy of the postal receipt of his resignation to the Child Welfare Committee.
The child's father has resigned from his job in Rourkela as he, along with his parents living at Gopalgaon in Balasore, will look after the girl till a satisfactory alternative arrangement was in place.
A committee official said they would first inspect the arrangement and only then hand over the child.
"Our officials in Balasore will accompany the family and ensure that the alternative arrangement is suitable for the child. The child will be then handed over to the family," said Child Welfare Committee official Benudhar Senapati.
As drama over the child's custody continues, the inconsolable 30-year-old mother anxiously awaits reunion with her daughter she last saw before leaving for work on Monday.
"When they reached my house on Monday, they asked me to come down immediately. But at that time I was attending to a cardiac patient," said the woman, who works at a private nursing home.
"I requested them to wait till 4.30pm, but they broke into my house and took away my child, and on top of that, the media started asking inadvertent questions as everyone feels that they have the right to demand an explanation from the mother. The issue was blown out of proportions, but we will comply with the committee order. Now, we are scared whether they would take any such drastic step again," she said.
Though the mother had promised to provide the child a safe and healthy environment to grow up, the committee did not hand over the girl to her.
"Yesterday, I was promised that I will get back my baby, but am now being told that she will be handed over to me in Balasore after ensuring that my child is safe with her grandparents," she said.