Due to extreme poverty and lack of work during COVID-19 crisis, a migrant labour in Assam sold his 15-day-old daughter for Rs 45,000 but the local police saved the baby, the officials said on Friday. The father and two other women involved have been arrested and charges of human trafficking have been pressed against the three.

Dipak Brahma, a resident of Dhantola Mandaria, had recently returned from Gujarat, where he worked as a labour. After nationwide lockdown was imposed due to the pandemic, Dipak became jobless and was unable to his support his family, informed an official of an NGO working against human trafficking.

Post his return, the family started living at Dipaks in-laws house in Kochugaon Patakata village, where is wife gave birth to their second daughter. The older daughter is over a year old, Nedan Foundation chairman Digambar Narzary informed.

“Brahma tried to find a job during the pandemic but it was hard to come by. Instead he decided to sell the newborn child, Narzary said.

Dipak sold the newborn to two women for Rs 45,000 on July 2 but kept his wife uninformed about his intentions. After the entire story spilled out, Dipaks wife along with the help of fellow villagers filed a complaint against him at the local police station.

Immediately after receiving the complaint, police swung into action and rescued the baby from the two sisters and arrested Dipak.

During questioning, the two women told the police that they had bought the baby for a childless couple related to them.

“We are really thankful to the police for rescuing the baby. But the issue is of very serious nature. Because of the lockdown, poor people do not have any work. The situation is getting worse for those living in forest villages,” Narzary added.

Becoming jobless during COVID-19 outbreak, labours are facing a difficult time and have returned to their homes in Assam. The state government announced to create job opportunities for them through various initiatives like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Apart from facing a tough time economically, the state is now fighting severe floods, which has disrupted everything. A total of 28.32 lakh people have been affected by the mayhem.