Suka Singh with his six other children in front of his house at Kaptipada in Nilgiri. Telegraph picture

Balasore, July 31: A 37-year-old villager of the tribal-dominated Nilgiri block is alleged to have sold his one-year-old infant to meet the expenses of his wife’s last rites.

The boy, whom the district childline officials rescued today, had been sold for Rs 3,000.

It is alleged that Suka Singh, 37, of Chaturia Sahi village at Dhobslia gram panchayat of Nilgiri sold his son on July 21. A daily wage labourer did not have the money to perform death rituals of his wife, Jhumuri, who died on July 19.

Two days after Jhumuri’s death, Suka sold his son to one Bania Singh of Kaptipada block in Mayurbhanj.

Acting on a tip-off, members of the district Childline today went to Kaptipada and rescued the child. District child protection officer Itishree Mohapatra said: “The child helpline members, along with officials of a short-stay home at Mitrapur, visited Kaptipada. The allegation that his father had sold the child is being verified.”

Sources in the area said Suka was married to Jhumuri about 13 year ago and have nine children. His eldest daughter got married about a year ago.

The accused has admitted that he had to sell the boy to meet the funeral expenses of his wife.

Nilgiri sub-collector Sridhar Nayak said: “After receiving the allegation of child sale, the Childline officials rescued him from Kaptipada. The boy has been lodged at an orphanage, Bapuji Sewa Sadan, at Mitrapur.”

“We are conducting a thorough investigation into the matter. Both the buyer and the seller have been summoned,” he said.

This is the second instance of child sale in the state.

On July 16, the Childline rescued a 22-day-old baby boy from Jagatsinghpur. His father, Shyama Chandra Rao, had sold the boy for Rs 6,000 to one Ranjit Chaudhury of Jagatsinghpur. Police had registered a case against both the couples.

Shyamsunder had seven children. While two of his babies had died, he has now five children. While his eight-year-old daughter Puja used to stay with her parents, Shyamsunder had sold the other four children. However, the police have rescued all four children.